Asplin and Catesby (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant, Asplin, against a decision of the Child Support Registrar concerning child support payments. The dispute centred on whether certain payments made by Catesby, the respondent, should be credited against his child support liability. The decision under review by the Registrar had been set aside as invalid, and no subsequent decision had been made by the Registrar. The appeal was heard by the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the applicant retained a right to seek a review of the Registrar's decision, given that the original decision had been invalidated and no new decision had been made. This question arose in the context of payments made by the respondent that the applicant sought to have credited towards the child support debt.

The court reasoned that the invalidation of the Registrar's decision meant that the applicant's right to seek a review of that decision had not been extinguished. The court held that the applicant was still entitled to pursue a review of the Registrar's assessment or decision regarding the crediting of payments. The legal principle applied was that where a decision is set aside as invalid, the parties are generally restored to their original positions, and any rights that were contingent on that decision remain available.

Consequently, the court found that the applicant's appeal was valid and that the matter should be remitted for a fresh decision by the Child Support Registrar.