Carell and Rawding (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the dispute between Carell and Rawding concerning child support payments. The core of the disagreement involved whether payments made by Mr. Rawding for school fees constituted a valid, enforceable maintenance liability at the time they were made, and whether these payments should be credited against his registered child support assessment.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether a legally enforceable maintenance liability existed for the school fees paid by Mr. Rawding prior to the registration of the child support assessment for collection. Secondly, the Tribunal had to decide whether the Registrar of the Child Support Agency had erred in crediting these payments against the assessment once it was registered.

In reaching its decision, the Tribunal applied the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). It reasoned that for a payment to be credited against a registered child support liability, it must be made pursuant to an enforceable maintenance liability. The Tribunal found that the payments for school fees made by Mr. Rawding were voluntary and not made under any existing enforceable maintenance obligation at the time of payment. Consequently, the Registrar's decision to credit these payments after the assessment was registered for collection was deemed incorrect. The Tribunal set aside the Registrar's decision and substituted its own.