Bellett and Valentine (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the dispute between Bellett and Valentine concerning the percentage of care arrangements for their child. The applicant, Bellett, sought to have the existing percentage of care determinations revoked and new determinations made, arguing there had been a change to the likely pattern of care.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the evidence established a change in the likely pattern of care for the child that would justify revoking the existing percentage of care determinations and making new ones. This involved assessing whether the proposed future care arrangements were sufficiently stable and likely to persist.

The Tribunal applied the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) regarding changes to care arrangements. It found that the evidence presented did not demonstrate a sufficiently stable or likely pattern of care to warrant a revocation of the existing determinations. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted its own decision.