Altman and Altman (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant, Altman, against a decision of the Registrar of the Child Support Agency (CSA) to refuse to credit a non-agency payment made to the respondent, Altman. The dispute centred on whether the payment met the conditions prescribed by the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) for it to be recognised as a payment towards the child support liability. The decision under review was made by Senior Member Dordevic of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the non-agency payment made by the applicant satisfied the requirements of section 44 of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) to be credited against the child support liability. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the payment was made in accordance with the terms of a child support agreement or an order of a court, and if the Registrar had been notified of the payment in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed time.

Senior Member Dordevic affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that the applicant had failed to satisfy the conditions for crediting the non-agency payment. The Tribunal noted that section 44 requires a non-agency payment to be made in accordance with a child support agreement or court order, and that the Registrar must be notified of such payments. As these conditions were not met, the payment could not be credited against the applicant's outstanding child support liability. The Tribunal concluded that the Registrar had correctly applied the relevant legislative provisions.