Thornhill and Tuson (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Tribunal regarding decisions made about the percentage of care for a child. The parties involved were Ms Tuson and Mr Thornhill, and the dispute centred on the likely pattern of care for the child and the effective dates of revised care arrangements.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether there had been a change to the likely pattern of care for the child, which would necessitate revoking existing percentage of care determinations and making new ones. Additionally, the Tribunal had to consider the date of effect provisions for these decisions, specifically whether there were special circumstances that prevented an objection from being lodged within the prescribed time.

The Tribunal found that there had been a change to the likely pattern of care and, in substitution for the decisions under review, revoked previous determinations of care percentages. New determinations were made reflecting a significant shift in the care arrangements, with one parent having 3% care and the other 97%, and subsequently 0% care for one parent and 100% for the other. The Tribunal also determined the effective dates for these new arrangements, finding no special circumstances that would justify a retrospective application beyond the statutory provisions. The Tribunal set aside the decisions under review and substituted its own determinations regarding the percentage of care and their effective dates.