The Legal Practitioner's Guide

4.4.3(f) Varying the costs of children

An order or agreement can adjust the costs of children used in the formula. This recognises that the cost of the children, or a particular child, is higher or lower than the usual costs. They may be higher, for example, if the child has special needs or if school fees are high.

It is worth noting that adjusting the costs of the children (rather than another element of the formula or the amount payable) will automatically distribute these additional costs between parents according to their share of the available resources (income percentages). This means that is it not necessary to separately establish the paying parent's share and add this to the amount payable.

If for some reason it is appropriate for the paying parent to bear all the additional cost, for example, because they have agreed to meet all school fees in addition to the child support assessment, it would be more appropriate to add the fees to the amount payable.

If the child is in shared care and there are additional costs, consideration must be given to whether the parents are in fact both meeting the additional costs in the same proportions as they meet the standard costs. For example, if the costs are high because the child has special needs requiring modification to the houses, this is likely to be the case. If the costs are high due to school fees and one parent actually pays the total amount to the school, this is not likely to be the case. The cost percentages (share of the cost that each parent meets directly) used in the assessment are also likely to require adjustment in such a case (see 4.4.3(g)). It may instead be preferable to adjust the annual rate to recognise one parent's share of the additional cost borne by the other parent (see Chapter 4.4.2).

Departure order

• That pursuant to section 117 of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 there be a departure from the administrative assessment(s) of child support payable for the child [child's name] as follows:

• The cost of [child's name] for child support purposes is to be increased/decreased by $x per year.

OR

• The cost of [child's name] for child support purposes is to be set at $x per year. If the second option is chosen, a clause indexing the cost, similar to those in 4.4.2, may be appropriate. Clauses to address situations such as unemployment could also be considered, as setting the cost may not allow for a reduction where income decreases.

Agreement

• [Parent A's name] and [Parent B's name] agree that when calculating child support payable for the child(ren) [child(ren)'s names] for the period from [start date] to [end date]:

• The cost of [child's name] for child support purposes is to be increased/decreased by $X per year.

OR

• The cost of [child's name] for child support purposes is to be set at $x per year. If the second option is chosen, a clause indexing the cost, similar to those in 4.4.2, may be appropriate. Clauses to address situations such as unemployment could also be considered, as setting the cost may not allow for a reduction where income decreases.

Tips and problems

If child support is payable for more than one child, the order or agreement should indicate the increase/decrease in the cost, or the set cost, for each child. Alternatively, the order or agreement could indicate how the increase in cost or set cost is apportioned between the children. This will ensure that if a terminating event (section 12) happens in relation to one or more of the children, only the cost or increase per child will continue to be used, rather than the full cost or increase stipulated in the order.

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