Napier and Trollope (Child support)

The case of *Napier and Trollope* concerned a dispute over the percentage of care attributed to each parent for child support assessment purposes. The applicant, Napier, sought to have the percentage of care varied, arguing that the initial assessment did not accurately reflect the likely pattern of care from its commencement. The decision was made by S De Bono SM in the [Court Name].

The primary legal issue before the Court was to determine the likely pattern of care for the child from the commencement of the child support administrative assessment. This involved assessing the evidence presented by both parties regarding the actual care arrangements and projecting what those arrangements were likely to be at the relevant time. The Court was required to consider whether the existing assessment accurately reflected this likely pattern of care.

In reaching its decision, the Court considered the evidence of the parties and applied the principles governing the determination of the percentage of care under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988*. The Court focused on establishing the factual circumstances of the care arrangements and assessing whether the applicant had discharged the onus of proving that the existing assessment was not in accordance with the likely pattern of care. The Court found that the applicant had not established that the initial assessment was incorrect and therefore affirmed the existing assessment.