Parker and Parker (Child support)

The matter of *Parker and Parker* concerned an application to the court for a departure from a child support assessment. The primary dispute revolved around whether the costs associated with the special needs of the child warranted an adjustment to the existing assessment. The decision was made by Magistrate P Jensen.

The court was required to determine whether the circumstances of the case met the threshold for a departure from the standard child support assessment under the relevant legislation. Specifically, the court had to consider if the costs incurred due to the child's special needs were exceptional and not adequately accounted for by the existing assessment formula.

Magistrate Jensen applied the principles governing departure from child support assessments, focusing on the specific provisions that allow for adjustments in cases involving significant costs related to a child's special needs. The reasoning likely involved an assessment of the nature and extent of these special needs, the reasonableness and necessity of the associated costs, and whether these costs represented a substantial departure from what would ordinarily be expected in the care of a child. The court would have weighed the evidence presented by the parties regarding these costs against the legislative criteria for a departure.

The court set aside the previous decision under review and substituted its own orders, indicating that a departure from the assessment was found to be justified.