Loomis and Forstater (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia regarding a child support departure determination. The applicants, Loomis and Forstater, sought to set aside a decision made by the Child Support Registrar concerning the costs of their children's education. The core of the dispute revolved around whether the Registrar had erred in refusing to depart from the standard child support assessment to account for these educational expenses.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Registrar had correctly applied the provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) when considering the departure application. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the costs of the children's education were of a kind that would be incurred by both parents in a two-parent family, if the parents had separated, and if these costs significantly affected the costs of maintaining the children. Furthermore, the Court needed to assess whether the financial resources of both parents had been adequately considered and if it was otherwise just and equitable to depart from the assessment.

Her Honour Judge Dordevic found that the Registrar had failed to properly consider the evidence regarding the nature and extent of the educational costs and their impact on the children's maintenance. The Court applied the principles outlined in the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth), emphasizing that a departure determination requires a careful balancing of the children's needs, the parents' financial capacities, and the overall justness of the outcome. The Court concluded that the Registrar's decision was not supported by the evidence and that a departure was warranted.

The Court set aside the decision under review and substituted its own determination, ordering a departure from the assessment to reflect the costs associated with the children's education.