About Dr Andrew Lancaster
Andrew is also a father of four, with one son and three daughters. His work on child support reform is shaped by a personal commitment to raise his children with strong family values, and a belief that public systems should help improve society rather than cause conflict.
Andrew created ChildSupportAustralia.com as a free, independent resource for Australian parents. For many years, the project was supported by his own time, research, and private funding through his education and analytical publishing work. More recently, the site has also been supported by small display advertising revenue and voluntary public contributions.
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 disputes, simplifying the system, and improving outcomes for children and parents.
He is the creator of the ChildSupportAustralia.com 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 | ChildSupportAustralia.com |
| Business background | Founder of an Australian education and analytical publishing company |
| 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, calculator development, and free parent support resources |
| Site funding | Personally supported by Andrew for many years, with later support from display advertising and voluntary public contributions |
| Independence | ChildSupportAustralia.com does not sell paid advice, legal services, memberships, e-books, casework, or referrals |
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 disputes by tying payments too heavily to fluctuating incomes and contested care arrangements. His proposed reforms aim to:
- reduce incentives for parental disputes,
- 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 simplification and removal of unintended incentive effects.
Andrew also discussed issues involving undeclared income, retrospective reassessments, delayed tax returns, and default income assessments to limit payment avoidance.
Creator of the ChildSupportAustralia.com 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.
ChildSupportAustralia.com’s calculator has become one of the most widely used independent child support calculators in Australia. It is provided free as part of the site’s public information work.
Thousands of Real Child Support Cases
Since 2017, Dr Andrew Lancaster has personally responded to thousands of child support questions through the CSA Q&A Forum. The forum discusses everyday issues parents raise 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 forum gives parents a free place to ask questions about the specific child support problems in front of them. It also gives Andrew exposure to recurring issues across cases, complementing his background in economics and government policy.
The forum is not a paid advice service. It is part of ChildSupportAustralia.com’s broader public information work for Australian parents.
Public Policy and Government Background
Before creating ChildSupportAustralia.com, 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 an Australian education and analytical publishing company covering education, public policy, and specialist information projects.
About ChildSupportAustralia.com
ChildSupportAustralia.com 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 guidance for separated parents.
The project has been supported by Andrew’s education and analytical publishing work, together with his own time, research, and private financial support.
For many years, ChildSupportAustralia.com operated through Andrew’s own time, work, and private financial support. The site is now supported by that ongoing commitment, small amounts of display advertising revenue, and voluntary public contributions.
ChildSupportAustralia.com does not provide paid consulting, paid legal advice, paid memberships, e-books, casework, or referral services. Its purpose is to help Australians understand the child support system and support reforms that can improve outcomes for children and reduce stress on parents.