Atwood and Alexander (Child support) - [2025] ARTA 2231

Atwood and Alexander (Child support) [2025] ARTA 2231 (19 August 2025)

Applicants:Mr Atwood
Mrs Alexander

Respondent: Child Support Registrar
Other Parties: Mrs Alexander
Mr Atwood

Tribunal Number: 2025/MC029815
2025/MC029914

Tribunal:General Member S Irvine
Place:Hobart
Date:19 August 2025
Decision:The Tribunal sets aside the decision under review and in substitution decides that in respect of all children in the assessment in the period from 10 February 2023 to 30 April 2024, Ms Alexander has a care percentage of 80% and Mr Atwood has a care percentage of 20%.
Pursuant to section 87AA of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988, this decision has effect from 23 April 2024.

CHILD SUPPORT – percentage of care – two separate applications – no precise records – parents lived close to each other and children could stay with either – mother provided most care during day, and most financial needs – father recently moved further from children’s school – agreement on percentage of care – oldest child now 18 – objection made more than 28 days after notice of decision – under review 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 pursuant to subsection 16(2AB) of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988.

Statement of Reasons

BACKGROUND

Mr Atwood and Ms Alexander are the parents of [Child 1] born in 2005, [Child 2] born in 2008, [Child 3] born in 2010 and [Child 4] born in 2012.
Ms Alexander made an application to Services Australia – Child Support (Child Support) for an administrative assessment of child support for the four children on 8 March 2022. On 17 March 2022 Child Support accepted Ms Alexander’s application and a child support assessment commenced for the children from 8 March 2022. On the same day Child Support made care percentage decisions in respect of all four children of 50% care to Ms Alexander and 50% care to Mr Atwood. The child support assessment for [Child 1] ended [in] September 2023, as [Child 1] turned 18.
Child Support has recorded that Ms Alexander contacted Child Support to report a change in care on 16 April 2024. As a result of that contact, Child Support made new care percentage decisions in respect of [Children 2-4] of 58% to Mr Atwood and 42% to Ms Alexander from 1 January 2024.
Child Support has then recorded that on 23 April 2024 Mr Atwood objected to the original care decision made on 17 March 2022. The matter was referred to a Child Support objections officer. On 9 May 2025 the objections officer allowed the objection and made a decision that, in respect of all four children, Mr Atwood had a care percentage of 57% and Ms Alexander had a care percentage of 43% from 10 February 2022.
Both Mr Atwood and Ms Alexander have applied to this Tribunal for an independent review of Child Support’s decision.…

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.

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Details

Case: [2025] ARTA 2231
Decision Date: 19 August 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicants, Mr Atwood and Ms Alexander, brought their case before the Administrative Review Tribunal to challenge the child support assessment decisions made by the Child Support Registrar. The primary dispute involved the determination of the care percentages for the four children from the start of the child support assessment on 8 March 2022. The central legal issue the tribunal had to address was to ascertain the appropriate care percentages for both parents, considering the period from 10 February 2022 to 30 April 2024.

The tribunal examined the evidence provided by both parties, including sworn statements and documentary evidence. The court found that initially, the children spent roughly equal nights with each parent but Ms Alexander provided the majority of care during the day and bore most of the financial responsibilities. The tribunal determined that the care percentages should reflect the overall pattern of care provided by the parents, rather than just the number of nights spent with each parent. Both parents agreed that Ms Alexander provided about 80% of the overall physical care for the children.

The tribunal concluded that the appropriate care percentages for the period from 10 February 2022 to 30 April 2024 should be 80% for Ms Alexander and 20% for Mr Atwood. The tribunal set aside the original decision and substituted its own, effective from 23 April 2024, in accordance with section 87AA of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988. This decision reflects the Tribunal's determination that Ms Alexander provided the majority of care for the children during the relevant period.

Orders