Morgon and Morgon (Child support)

The matter of *Morgon and Morgon* concerned an application for a departure determination under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). The applicant sought to depart from the child support assessment made by the Registrar, arguing that the assessment did not take into account the full financial circumstances of the parties, specifically concerning partnership income. The decision was made by Member S Hoffman of the Child Support Special Powers Division.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the assessment of child support should be departed from, pursuant to section 117 of the Act. This required the court to consider whether the assessment was likely to be affected by the failure of one or both of the parents to provide for the financial needs of the child, or by the income, property and financial resources of either parent. The court specifically had to determine how partnership income should be treated in the context of a departure application.

Member Hoffman reasoned that the intention of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* was to ensure that child support assessments reflected the actual capacity of parents to provide for their children. In this instance, the court found that the partnership income of one of the parties had not been adequately considered in the initial assessment. Applying the principles of the Act, the court determined that a departure was warranted to ensure a more accurate reflection of the parent's financial capacity. The court varied the decision of the Registrar.