Ardron and Ardron (Child support) - [2021] AATA 2287

Ardron and Ardron (Child support) [2021] AATA 2287 (2 June 2021)

DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION

DIVISION: Social Services & Child Support Division

REVIEW NUMBER: 2020/PC020400

APPLICANT: Mr Ardron

OTHERPARTIES: Child Support Registrar Ms Ardron

TRIBUNAL: Member J D'Arcy

DECISION DATE: 2 June 2021

DECISION:

The decision under review is set aside and a new decision substituted that from 1 January 2021 to 31 October 2021 Mr Ardron’s adjusted taxable income is set at $77,000.

CATCHWORDS

CHILD SUPPORT – departure determination – income, property and financial resources of the liable parent – benefit from sale of assets – income from employment – decision under review set aside and substituted

Names used in all published decisions are pseudonyms. Any references appearing in square brackets indicate that information has been omitted from this decision and replaced with generic information so as not to identify involved individuals as required by subsections 16(2AB)-16(2AC) of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988.

REASONS FOR DECISION

BACKGROUND

Mr Ardron is seeking a review of the decision to maintain his adjusted taxable income at $163,729 from 1 July 2019 to 31 December 2020 and to set his adjusted taxable income at $77,000 from 1 January 2021 to 31 October 2021.

Mr Ardron and Ms Ardron are the parents of twins, [Child 1] and [Child 2], born in August 2006. The children are in the primary care of their mother.

Following an application for a change of assessment by Ms Ardron on 12 October 2019, Mr Ardron was assessed to pay child support on his 2018 adjusted taxable income of $163,729 from 1 July 2019 to 31 December 2020. From 1 January 2021 to 30 November 2021 he was assessed to pay child support based on his 2020 adjusted taxable income of $40,094.

On 1 August 2020 Mr Ardron lodged a change of assessment application under Reasons 5, 8A, 8B and 9. On 26 August 2020 a decision maker in Services Australia (Child Support) found that the reasons were not established. Mr Ardron objected and on 7 November 2020 a decision maker refused to change the assessment for the period 1 July 2019 to 31 December 2020 and then set his adjusted taxable income at $77,000 from 1 January 2021 to 31 October 2021, finding that Reason 8A was established but the remaining reasons – 5, 8B and 9 – were not established.

On 7 December 2020 Mr Ardron lodged an application for review with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the tribunal).

Directions were issued on 7 April 2021.

A hearing was held on 2 June 2021 with Mr Ardron and Ms Ardron by telephone.

The following material was available to the tribunal and the parties: the subsection 37(1) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 Statement and Documents (361 pages), additional documents A1 to A378 from Mr Ardron and B1 to B9 from Ms Ardron.

Ms Ardron advised that she did not receive the additional material supplied by Mr Ardron but wished to proceed with the hearing,…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Ardron and Ardron (Child support)

Details

AGLC: Ardron and Ardron (Child support) [2021] AATA 2287
Case: [2021] AATA 2287
Decision Date: 2 June 2021

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of *Ardron and Ardron* concerned an application for a departure determination under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). The applicant sought to have the child support assessment varied based on the income, property, and financial resources of the liable parent, specifically highlighting a benefit derived from the sale of assets and income from employment. The matter came before Judicial Officer D'Arcy M.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the liable parent's actual financial circumstances warranted a departure from the standard child support assessment. This involved determining if the liable parent had received a benefit from the sale of assets and if their income from employment was such that the existing assessment did not accurately reflect their capacity to pay. The court was required to consider the provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* relating to departure determinations and the assessment of a parent's financial resources.

Judicial Officer D'Arcy M reasoned that the liable parent had indeed benefited from the sale of assets, which constituted a financial resource that should be considered in the child support assessment. Furthermore, the court found that the liable parent's income from employment was a significant factor. Applying the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988*, the court concluded that the existing assessment did not adequately reflect the liable parent's capacity to pay child support. Consequently, the decision under review was set aside and substituted with a new determination.

Orders