Bartram and Bartram (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the dispute between the parties, identified as Bartram and Bartram, concerning child support assessments. The core of the disagreement revolved around whether a reconciliation had occurred, which would have triggered a terminating event or suspension of the existing child support assessment.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the parties had reconciled their relationship to the extent that the child support assessment should have been terminated or suspended. This involved an objective assessment of the nature of their relationship following a period of separation, including whether they had resumed living together as a couple.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that the parties had not objectively reconciled. Despite some communications, joint activities, occasional sexual relations, and the birth of a second child overseas, these factors did not demonstrate a resumption of a genuine spousal relationship. The Tribunal considered the separation under one roof, subsequent living at different addresses with separate finances, and the reporting of care changes as indicative of ongoing separation rather than reconciliation. The objective circumstances did not support the conclusion that the parties had ceased to be separated.