Application for departure from formula assessment — child support — ability of father to support child — Child Support Act 1991, ss 104, 105, 106. The applicant mother sought a departure from the formula assessment for child support, which is based on taxable income alone. She submitted their child cost $10,000 per year to support (excluding physiotherapy, school trips and other similar expenses). Based on the formula assessment the respondent father was paying 14.5 percent of this cost. The rest was paid for by the mother's new partner. The father had several businesses and expensive hobbies but claimed he had a very small income. Sections 105-107 of the Child Support Act cater for situations where the parent's income comes from a means other than a simple wage or salary. The mother submitted that the father could and should be obligated to pay more towards supporting his child. The father submitted that he could not do this and should not have to because the child's step-father could afford to pay. The Judge noted that the child's step-father paying for all his costs was a stroke of luck for the child and a sign of the man's generosity. It did not absolve the father of his obligations to support his child, which was a matter of justice. The Judge ordered the father to pay $3500 per year towards supporting his child, on the basis of justice and that he was able to pay. The Judge may have ordered the father to pay more child support, had the mother been more forthcoming about her own income. Judgment Date: 12 February 2019. * * * Note: names have been changed to comply with legal requirements. * * *