Costs of maintaining children
Section 66D(2) of the Family Law Act expressly provides that in taking into account the proper needs of a child the Court may have regard to "any relevant findings of published research in relation to the maintenance of children".
In 1984, Kerry Lovering of the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) in a working paper entitled Cost of Children in Australia published tables relating to the costs of raising children based on a 'basket of goods' approach (see 'Child Maintenance' tab in CCH Australian Family Law and Practice).
In 1989, Donald Lee of Deakin University, working under contract to the AIFS, published tables relating to the costs of raising children based on an 'expenditure survey' approach (see the 'Child Maintenance' tab in CCH Australian Family Law and Practice).
CCH has continued to update the Lee and Lovering tables. The Full Court has stated that the Lee scale represents a more accurate guide to the costs of children (Streets and Streets (1994) FLC 92-509).
For more information visit www.cch.com.au.