Caul and Caul (Child support) - [2025] ARTA 1992

Caul and Caul (Child support) [2025] ARTA 1992 (11 September 2025)

Applicant/s: Mr Caul

Respondent: Child Support Registrar

Other Parties: Ms Caul
Tribunal Number: 2024/PC028919
Tribunal: General Member H Casey
Place:Hobart
Date:11 September 2025

Decision:The Tribunal sets aside the decision under review and in substitution decides that for the period 23 October 2023 until the assessment ends, the adjusted taxable income for Mr Caul is varied to $71,500.

CATCHWORDS

CHILD SUPPORT – departure determination – income, property and financial resources – benefits derived from business – special circumstances – changes to adjusted taxable income – 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 omitted from this decision and replaced with generic information pursuant to subsection 16(2AB) of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988.

Statement of Reasons

BACKGROUND

This is a review of a decision of Services Australia (Child Support) about a change of assessment in special circumstances, which is a decision about whether to depart from a child support assessment.
Mr Caul and Ms Caul have had a child support assessment in place for their child [Child A] since 2018. [Child A] is recorded as being in 100% care of Ms Caul, and Mr Caul is the parent assessed to pay child support to Ms Caul.
From 1 September 2022 to 31 July 2023 the assessment had been $19,448 per annum based on Mr Caul’s 2021/22 adjusted taxable income (ATI) of $139,230 and Ms Caul’s 2021/22 ATI of $64,250. This annual rate reduced significantly from 1 August 2023 to 31 October 2024 when Mr Caul was assessed to pay the minimum annual rate of $493 per annum based on his 2022/23 ATI of $24,923 and Ms Caul’s 2022/23 ATI of $70,384.
On 23 October 2023 Ms Caul made an application to Child Support for a change of assessment (COA) in special circumstances, also known as a departure application, on the basis that Mr Caul’s large drop in taxable income in the last financial year did not adequately reflect his income or financial resources for child support purposes as he was continuing to work in the same industry.
On 27 March 2024 Child Support made a decision to depart from the assessment for the period 23 October 2023 to 31 October 2025 so that the ATI of Mr Caul used in the assessment was varied to $89,200. This reflected that Mr Caul had gone from being a salary and wage earner as [an Occupation 1] to establishing his own business as [an Occupation 2] in the same industry, through which he was able to gain some personal financial benefits through tax deductible expenses.
On 30 April 2024 Mr Caul objected to this decision on the basis that he believed the assessment should be based on his taxable income. On 13 June 2024 Child Support partly allowed the objection, allowing a higher portion of business expenses to reduce Mr…

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.

Continue reading Caul and Caul (Child support)

Details

AGLC: Caul and Caul (Child support) [2025] ARTA 1992
Case: [2025] ARTA 1992
Decision Date: 11 September 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

This case involves a review of a decision made by Services Australia (Child Support) regarding a change of assessment in special circumstances for child support purposes. Mr Caul and Ms Caul, parents of [Child A], have had a child support assessment in place since 2018. The Tribunal was required to decide whether there was a ground to depart from the administrative assessment, whether such a departure would be just and equitable, and whether it would be otherwise proper.

The Tribunal found that special circumstances existed because Mr Caul's business expenses provided him with a personal benefit, reducing his taxable income without a corresponding reduction in his actual income. This made the child support assessment unfair in comparison to his income and financial resources. The Tribunal also found that a departure would be just and equitable, as it would better reflect Mr Caul's income and financial resources and low self-support expenses in meeting [Child A's] costs. The Tribunal decided to set Mr Caul's income at $71,500, which would result in an annual rate of approximately $185 per week for periods where Ms Caul is assessed on her 2022/23 income of $70,384, and $175 per week for periods where Ms Caul is assessed on her 203/24 income of $81,631. Once Ms Caul's 2024/25 income is received, this will adjust again for the future period. The departure would commence on the date of Ms Caul's application (23 October 2023) and continue until the case ends in 2027. This decision will result in a minimal reduction of the arrears, as the departure for the period prior to this decision is only slightly lower than that determined by the objections officer. The Tribunal is satisfied that the proposed departure is otherwise proper, as it places the duty on the parents to primarily provide for the costs of the child.

In conclusion, the Tribunal sets aside the decision under review and substitutes it with a decision that varies the adjusted taxable income for Mr Caul to $71,500 for the period from 23 October 2023 until the assessment ends.

Orders