McBeth and Gerard (Child support)

The case of *McBeth and Gerard* concerned a dispute over child support payments, brought before the court by the liable parent. The liable parent had made payments for school fees and school uniforms. These payments were made before a change in the care of the child, but were intended for a school term that would commence after the change in care had taken effect. The decision under review affirmed the initial determination regarding these payments.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the payments made by the liable parent for school fees and uniforms, prior to the change in the child's care but for a period commencing thereafter, constituted a valid non-agency payment under the relevant child support legislation. Specifically, the court had to determine if these expenditures qualified as payments that could be credited against the liable parent's child support obligations, notwithstanding the timing of the payments relative to the change in care arrangements.

The court affirmed the decision under review, finding that the payments made by the liable parent did not qualify as valid non-agency payments. The reasoning likely centred on the interpretation of the legislation governing non-agency payments, which typically requires such payments to be made for the benefit of the child during the period for which they are claimed as a credit. As the payments were made before the change in care, and the school term for which they were intended commenced after the change in care, they were not considered to have been made for the benefit of the child under the liable parent's care during the relevant period.