Barlow and Crofts (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the paying parent, Barlow, against a departure determination made by the Registrar of the Child Support Agency. The dispute centred on whether the Registrar had correctly considered the paying parent's foreign rental income when assessing child support obligations. The appeal was heard by the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Registrar erred in failing to establish a ground for departure from the child support assessment provisions under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). Specifically, the Court had to determine if the paying parent's foreign rental income constituted a relevant factor that warranted a departure from the standard assessment.

The Court reasoned that the Registrar's decision to depart was not supported by the evidence. While the paying parent did receive foreign rental income, the Registrar had not adequately considered the net income after expenses, nor had the Registrar properly assessed whether this income was a "relevant circumstance" that made the assessment of child support under the Act "just and equitable". The Court found that the Registrar had not established that the paying parent's circumstances were exceptional or unusual enough to justify a departure.

Consequently, the Court set aside the Registrar's departure determination and substituted it with a decision that no ground for departure was established. The child support assessment was to proceed on the basis of the original assessment.