Anacombe and Kokoski (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an objection by the father, Mr Anacombe, against a decision by the Child Support Registrar to remove the relevant dependent allowance from his child support assessment. The Registrar's decision was based on the finding that the father no longer had a relevant dependent child for the purposes of the assessment.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Registrar's decision to remove the relevant dependent allowance was correct. This required the Tribunal to determine whether the child in question continued to meet the criteria for being a "relevant dependent child" under the relevant legislation, specifically in circumstances where the child was no longer residing with the father.

Member R Prasad affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that the father had not established that the child remained a relevant dependent child. The Tribunal applied the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* concerning the definition of a relevant dependent child and the circumstances under which an allowance may be removed. The Tribunal concluded that the evidence did not support the father's claim that the child continued to meet the criteria for the allowance.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision of the Child Support Registrar.