Albertson and Child Support Registrar (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the dispute between Albertson and the Child Support Registrar concerning a child support assessment. The core of the disagreement involved whether there had been a change to the likely pattern of care for the child, which would necessitate a review and potential alteration of the existing percentage of care determinations.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the evidence presented demonstrated a material change in the child's living arrangements that justified revoking the existing percentage of care determinations and making new ones. This involved assessing whether the proposed changes to care were likely to be substantial and ongoing, thereby impacting the child support assessment.

The Tribunal found that the evidence established a significant and likely permanent shift in the child's residential arrangements. Applying the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988*, the Tribunal concluded that the existing percentage of care determinations were no longer reflective of the actual or likely future pattern of care. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the previous decision and substituted it with new determinations reflecting the changed circumstances.