Aveyard and Venables (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the child support arrangements between Aveyard and Venables. The dispute concerned the percentage of care each party had for their child, and whether a change in the likely pattern of care warranted a revocation of existing percentage of care determinations and the making of new ones. The AAT was asked to review a decision made by the Registrar of the Child Support Agency.

The primary legal issue before the AAT was whether there had been a change to the likely pattern of care for the child. This required the Tribunal to assess the evidence presented by both parties regarding the day-to-day care arrangements and to determine if these arrangements met the threshold for a change in the percentage of care. A secondary issue arose concerning the date of effect of any new determination, particularly in light of a late application for review and the absence of special circumstances justifying the delay.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the evidence of the actual care provided to the child. It found that the evidence did not establish a change to the likely pattern of care that would justify revoking the existing percentage of care determinations. Consequently, the AAT set aside the Registrar's decision to make new percentage of care determinations and substituted its own decision to affirm the existing arrangements. The Tribunal also declined to make a determination under subsection 95N(2) of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988, as there were no special circumstances that prevented the application for review from being lodged in time.