Nicol and Griffin (Child support)

The case of Nicol and Griffin (Child Support) concerned a dispute between the parties regarding the percentage of care for their child, which formed the basis of a child support assessment. The matter came before the court for review of a decision made under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth).

The primary legal issue before the court was to determine the likely pattern of care for the child from the commencement of the administrative assessment. This involved assessing the factual circumstances to ascertain which party had the greater or lesser percentage of care, as this directly impacted the child support payable.

The court considered the evidence presented regarding the care arrangements for the child. It applied the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) to determine the factual pattern of care. Having found that the initial assessment did not accurately reflect the likely pattern of care, the court set aside the original decision and substituted its own determination.