Askey and Askey (Child support)

This matter concerned an application for an administrative assessment of child support, brought by Mrs Askey against Mr Askey. The dispute centred on the date on which Mrs Askey had effectively lodged her application for child support with the Registrar. The decision was made by B Harvey SM.

The primary legal issue before the court was to determine the date on which Mrs Askey's application for child support was validly made. This involved considering whether an incomplete or technically erroneous online submission constituted a lodged application, or if further action was required to satisfy the lodgement requirements.

The Senior Member reasoned that the lodgement of an application requires not only the applicant's action in sending or completing a form but also its receipt by the relevant entity, in this case, the Registrar. Applying this principle, the Senior Member found that while Mrs Askey had attempted an online application on 8 January 2016, which resulted in a technical error message, this did not constitute a lodged application. The Senior Member noted that Mrs Askey herself accepted that she took no further action until 30 June 2016, when she completed a complete online application. The Senior Member considered the analogy of posting a paper form, which is only considered lodged upon receipt.

The Senior Member affirmed the decision under review, which was based on the lodgement date of 30 June 2016.