Rasnick and Netter (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the father, Rasnick, against a departure determination made by the Registrar of the Child Support Agency concerning child support payable for the parties' two children. The mother, Netter, sought to depart from the formula assessment of child support on the grounds that the costs of the children's private school education and the manner in which the children were being raised, which included extracurricular activities and holiday travel, were not adequately reflected in the formula assessment. The Registrar had agreed with the mother and made a departure determination. The appeal was heard by the Magistrates' Court.

The primary legal issue before the Magistrates' Court was whether the Registrar had erred in making the departure determination. Specifically, the court was required to consider whether the costs associated with the children's private education and the parents' established standard of living, including their decisions regarding extracurricular activities and holiday arrangements, constituted special circumstances that justified a departure from the standard child support formula. The court also had to assess whether the Registrar had correctly applied the relevant provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) in reaching their decision.

The Magistrates' Court found that the Registrar had correctly identified that the costs of private schooling and the parents' established manner of raising the children, which included significant expenditure on extracurricular activities and holiday travel, were not adequately covered by the formula assessment. The court reasoned that these factors represented a departure from the ordinary expenses that the formula was designed to address. The court affirmed that the parents' mutual agreement and established practice regarding these expenditures were significant considerations. Consequently, the court concluded that a ground for departure had been established under the Act.

The Magistrates' Court set aside the Registrar's departure determination and substituted its own. The court ordered that the child support assessment be varied to reflect the actual costs of the children's private education and the established standard of living of the parents, as agreed and maintained by them.