Brimson and Vernon (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal concerning a child support assessment. The parties involved were Brimson and Vernon, and the dispute centred on the percentage of care attributed to each party for the purposes of child support. The Tribunal was asked to review a decision made by the Registrar of the Child Support Agency.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether there were "special circumstances" that prevented the objection to the child support assessment from being lodged within the prescribed time limit. The Tribunal was required to determine if the circumstances presented by the objector met the threshold for "special circumstances" as contemplated by the relevant legislation, thereby allowing the objection to be considered out of time.

The Tribunal found that no special circumstances existed that prevented the objection from being lodged within the statutory timeframe. The Tribunal applied the principles of statutory interpretation to the definition of "special circumstances" and concluded that the reasons provided by the objector did not constitute a sufficient basis to extend the time for lodging the objection. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, which meant the objection was not accepted for late lodgement.