Ananyev and Ananyev (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia regarding a child support departure determination. The parties, referred to as Ananyev and Ananyev, were in dispute over the assessment of child support obligations. The core of the disagreement revolved around the income, property, and financial resources of both parents.

The court was required to determine whether the liable parent was genuinely unable to work due to a medical condition, and whether income from a family trust had been improperly redirected to the liable parent's current partner. The central legal issue was whether the original departure determination made by the Registrar was correct, or if it should be set aside and substituted with a new determination.

Justice Thomson M found that the liable parent's claim of being unable to work due to a medical condition was not sufficiently substantiated. Furthermore, the court was satisfied that income from the family trust had been deliberately diverted to the liable parent's current partner, thereby reducing the liable parent's assessable income for child support purposes. The court applied the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988*, focusing on the actual financial capacity of the liable parent and the need to prevent artificial reduction of income.

Consequently, the court set aside the original departure determination and substituted it with its own determination, reflecting the true financial position of the liable parent.