McDanah and McDanah (Child support)

The case of *McDanah and McDanah* concerned a dispute over child support payments, brought before Member R Prasad of the Child Support Special Powers Tribunal. The central issue was the percentage of care attributed to each parent for their child, with the mother asserting that she now had 100% care and the father having no overnight pattern of care. The mother sought a review of an existing child support assessment.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the mother's current care arrangements constituted 100% care for the purposes of child support legislation. It also needed to consider whether an interim period of care should apply and whether the father had taken reasonable action to ensure compliance with the care arrangements or had unreasonably delayed in applying for a review of the assessment.

Member Prasad reasoned that the father's lack of an overnight pattern of care meant he did not meet the threshold for shared care or significant shared care. The Tribunal found that the mother had indeed established 100% care. Furthermore, the Tribunal determined that the father had not taken reasonable action to ensure the care arrangement complied with the assessment and had unreasonably delayed in seeking a review. Consequently, the interim period was deemed not applicable. The decision under review was set aside and substituted with a new assessment reflecting the mother's 100% care.