Blythe and Blythe (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the father, Mr Blythe, against a departure determination made by the Registrar of the Child Support Agency. The Registrar had determined that the father's child support assessment should be departed from, and a higher amount of child support assessed, on the basis that the father had a significantly higher earning capacity than his assessed income. The mother, Mrs Blythe, sought to uphold the Registrar's decision.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Registrar had erred in making the departure determination. Specifically, the court was required to consider whether the Registrar had correctly applied the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) in assessing the father's income and financial resources, and whether the departure from the standard assessment was justified. The court also considered the period for which the departure determination should apply.

The court found that the Registrar had erred in her assessment of the father's income and financial resources. While acknowledging the father's potential earning capacity, the court determined that the evidence did not sufficiently establish that the father was deliberately under-earning or that his current income was not reflective of his actual financial position. The court applied the principles that a departure determination requires clear evidence of a parent's capacity to earn more and a deliberate choice to earn less, or other circumstances that would make the standard assessment unjust. The court set aside the Registrar's departure determination and substituted its own decision.