About Dr Andrew Lancaster
Andrew has provided evidence to the Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System. He has also developed alternative child support formula models aimed at reducing conflict and simplifying the system for separated parents.
He is the creator of the Child Support Australia calculator and has answered thousands of parent questions through the CSA Complaints Forum.
Key Facts
| Full name | Dr Andrew Lancaster |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Economist and policy analyst |
| Organisation | Child Support Australia |
| Company | Unicurve |
| Qualification | PhD in Economics from the Australian National University |
| Honours degree | Bachelor of Economics (Honours), University of Tasmania |
| Government background | Former Commonwealth policy strategist and analyst |
| Policy experience | Department of Industry, and Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |
| Specialist areas | Child support policy, shared care economics, formula modelling, and family law system analysis |
| Parliamentary evidence | Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System, 2021 |
| Known for | Child support reform proposals and calculator development |
Experience in Child Support Policy
Dr Andrew Lancaster has spent years analysing Australia’s child support system from the perspectives of economics, public policy, behavioural incentives, and family law administration.
His work spans how the design of the child support formula affects parental behaviour, workforce participation, shared care arrangements, administrative disputes, and long-term family outcomes.
Areas of specialist analysis include:
- Child support formula mechanics
- Shared care economics
- Care percentage disputes
- Income estimation and hidden income
- Change of Assessment processes
- Tax return delays and reassessments
- Binding child support agreements
- Administrative incentives within the system
- Child support debt and enforcement
- Re-partnering and blended-family impacts
Andrew has argued publicly that parts of the Australian child support system create unnecessary conflict by tying payments too heavily to fluctuating incomes and contested care arrangements. His proposed reforms aim to:
- reduce incentives for parental conflict,
- simplify formula calculations,
- encourage workforce participation,
- reduce administrative complexity,
- and improve predictability for separated parents.
Evidence to the Family Law Inquiry
In May 2021, Dr Andrew Lancaster appeared before the Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System during a public hearing into Australia’s family law and child support system.
The hearing included discussion with politicians including Pauline Hanson and Kevin Andrews regarding child support reform, shared care arrangements, parental incentives, and alternative formula structures.
During the hearing, Andrew presented a detailed alternative child support formula model centred on:
| Proposal | Description |
|---|---|
| Equal-care baseline | No child support payable at 50/50 care |
| Payer-income focus | Payments primarily linked to payer income |
| Reduced conflict incentives | Less financial incentive to litigate care percentages |
| Simplified structure | More predictable and transparent calculations |
| Administrative efficiency | Reduced complexity and lower compliance costs |
Andrew also discussed issues involving undeclared income, retrospective reassessments, delayed tax returns, default income assessments, and incentives created by the current income-shares system.
During the inquiry, he noted that Child Support Australia had already implemented the alternative formula inside its calculator system so parents could directly compare the proposed model against the current Australian formula.
Creator of the Child Support Australia Calculator
Dr Andrew Lancaster developed the child support calculator for Australian parents. The calculator allows parents to:
- estimate child support payments,
- model income changes,
- test shared care scenarios,
- compare assessment outcomes,
- and better understand how the formula operates.
Child Support Australia’s calculator has become one of the most widely used independent child support calculators in Australia.
Thousands of Real Child Support Cases
Since 2017, Dr Andrew Lancaster has personally responded to thousands of child support questions through the CSA Complaints Forum. The forum discusses everyday issues parents face involving:
- child support assessments,
- shared care disputes,
- income estimates,
- Change of Assessment applications,
- undeclared income,
- tax return delays,
- private agreements,
- administrative complaints,
- debt enforcement,
- and Services Australia processes.
The discussions provide insight into how Australia’s child support system operates in practice. Such practical exposure complements Andrew’s background in economics and government policy, giving him direct familiarity with recurring issues experienced by separated parents across Australia.
Public Policy and Government Background
Before founding Unicurve and Child Support Australia, Andrew worked within the Australian Government as a policy strategist and analyst. His government experience includes work within:
- Department of Industry
- Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
His work included policy analysis, strategic projects, economic modelling, and major government initiatives such as Australia in the Asian Century.
Andrew later founded Unicurve, an Australian publishing and technology company focused on education, public policy, and analytical publishing projects.
ALRC Submission on the Family Law System
Dr Andrew Lancaster also made a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission review of Australia’s family law system. The submission discussed issues including:
- shared parenting,
- father involvement,
- false allegations,
- self-represented litigants,
- family law incentives,
- and policy imbalance within the system.
The submission also included quantitative analysis of the language and emphasis used within the ALRC discussion paper itself.
About Child Support Australia
Child Support Australia is an independent Australian information resource covering child support, shared care, and family law issues. The site publishes:
- child support guides,
- calculator tools,
- care percentage resources,
- policy reform discussions,
- and practical guidance for separated parents.
The project is backed by Unicurve, founded by Dr Andrew Lancaster.