Pollock and Campbell (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the liable parent, Mr Pollock, against a departure determination made by the Registrar of the Child Support Agency concerning child support payments for the parties' two children. The appeal was heard by Magistrate S Brakespeare. The core of the dispute revolved around whether the costs of the children's education, including special needs, should be considered in the child support assessment, and whether the liable parent's financial resources warranted a departure from the standard assessment.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Registrar had erred in her decision to depart from the standard child support assessment. Specifically, the court had to determine if the costs associated with the children's education, including the expenses arising from their special needs, were of a nature that would have been expected by both parents to be a necessary expense, and if these costs significantly affected the cost of maintaining the children. Furthermore, the court was required to consider the financial capacity of the liable parent in relation to these additional expenses.

Magistrate Brakespeare reasoned that the evidence presented demonstrated that the children had special needs which necessitated additional educational expenses. The court found that these expenses were of a kind that both parents would have reasonably anticipated and that they significantly impacted the overall cost of maintaining the children. Applying the principles of the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1988*, the court concluded that the Registrar's decision to depart from the standard assessment was justified on these grounds.

The court set aside the Registrar's original departure determination and substituted its own decision, finding that the costs of the children's education, including those related to their special needs, should be taken into account in the child support assessment, and that the liable parent's financial resources supported such a departure.