Campana and Campana (Child support) - [2020] AATA 1408

Campana and Campana (Child support) [2020] AATA 1408 (8 April 2020)
DIVISION:  Social Services & Child Support Division
REVIEW NUMBER:  2019/PC017350
APPLICANT:  Mr Campana
OTHER PARTIES:  Child Support Registrar
Ms Campana

TRIBUNAL: Member S Hoffman
DECISION DATE: 8 April 2020

DECISION:

The tribunal sets aside the decision under review and, in substitution, decides as follows:

·     For the period 18 December 2018 to 30 April 2022, Mr Campana’s adjusted taxable income is varied to $172,583
·     For the period 18 December 2018 to 30 June 2019, Ms Campana’s adjusted taxable income is varied to $72,052
·     For the period 1 July 2019 to 30 April 2022, Ms Campana’s adjusted taxable income is varied to $57,366
CATCHWORDS
CHILD SUPPORT – departure determination – income, property and financial resources of both parents – benefits derived from business and trusts – decision under review set aside and substituted
Names used in all published decisions are pseudonyms. Any references appearing in square brackets indicate that information has been removed from this decision and replaced with generic information so as not to identify involved individuals as required by subsections 16(2AB)-16(2AC) of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988.
REASONS FOR DECISION
BACKGROUND
1.This review is about the child support assessment in respect of a daughter aged 16 years old and a son aged 11 years old. The case was first registered on 2 June 2016 with Services Australia – Child Support (the CSA). The CSA started collecting child support from that date. The father pays child support to the mother.
2.On 18 December 2018, the mother lodged an application for a change of assessment with the CSA. At that time, according to the CSA’s records, she was providing 73% of the children’s care and the father was providing 27% of their care. The father was required to pay $5,868 a year in child support based on deemed income for him for 2017/18 of $53,665 and an estimate of income for the mother for 2018/19 of $13,035.
3.On 8 May 2019 a senior case officer from the CSA decided to vary the father’s adjusted taxable income to $215,000 for the period 18 December 2018 to 31 March 2023, and also decided that his adjusted taxable income was to increase annually from 1 July 2020 by the national weighted average of the consumer price index for the preceding March quarter (the original decision).
4.The father objected to the original decision as he disagreed with the adjusted taxable income amount for him and the mother objected as she wanted the decision backdated to the maximum 18 months.
5.On 7 August 2019, an objections officer from the CSA disallowed the objection, and affirmed the original decision.[1]
[1] The objections officer added a clause that would apply if the decision meant that a parent was assessed to pay less than the minimum rate of child support and had less than 14% care of all the children. If that was the case, a rate equivalent to the minimum rate of…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Keep reading for free

Create a free CaseChat account to read Campana and Campana (Child support) and more:

Read every judgment in full
Ask AI and get answers linked to paragraphs
See how each paragraph was cited in later cases
Download judgments as PDF or Word

Continue with Google

One click creates your free account or signs you in.

By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Details

Case: [2020] AATA 1408
Decision Date: 8 April 2020

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of *Campana and Campana* concerned an application for a departure determination under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). The applicant sought to have the child support assessment varied based on the income, property, and financial resources of both parents. The decision under review was set aside and substituted by the court.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether to depart from the standard child support assessment. This required the court to consider the financial circumstances of both parents, including any benefits derived from business interests and trusts, to determine if the assessment was not just and equitable.

The court's reasoning focused on a comprehensive examination of the parties' financial positions. It applied the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* to assess whether the standard assessment adequately reflected the parties' capacity to provide financial support for the child, taking into account all relevant income, property, and financial resources. The court considered the benefits derived from business and trusts in its determination.

Orders