Is Netflix fee a 'luxury' when it comes to child support?

Divorcing parents usually want to ensure that their children will be well looked after in any settlement, but whether the cost of subscribing to platforms such as Netflix should be deemed a necessary or even a "luxury" expense is becoming a contentious issue.

- Tan Ooi Boon

Many households have access to these entertainment services, and some parents have included their subscription costs as essential outlays for their children.

The courts have been wrestling with the issue in recent years.

In 2024, the High Court excluded the $30 monthly costs for Netflix and Apple Music as "luxuries", presumably because the mother had submitted a monthly claim of over $14,000 for her two children.

But in early 2025, Judge Mohamed Faizal took another look at such expenses and said that whether Netflix or similar streaming services may be claimed as child maintenance would depend on the facts of each case.

Noting that such services are increasingly found in many households, much like broadband and other entertainment options, he said that online streaming costs may well be considered as "conventional expenses".