Charman and Charman (Child support)

The matter of *Charman and Charman* concerned an application for review of a child support administrative assessment. The applicant, Mr Charman, sought to challenge the estimate of his income used by the Child Support Registrar in calculating his child support obligations. The review was heard by Member P Jensen.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Child Support Registrar had erred in accepting an estimate of Mr Charman's income for the purposes of the child support assessment, and consequently, whether that estimate should have been refused.

Member P Jensen reasoned that the Registrar’s decision to estimate Mr Charman’s income was permissible under the relevant legislation when direct evidence of income was unavailable or unreliable. The court considered the evidence presented regarding Mr Charman's financial circumstances and determined that the Registrar had acted within their powers in making an informed estimate. The court found that the estimate was reasonable in the circumstances and that there was no basis to refuse it.

Consequently, the decision under review, which had relied on the estimated income, was set aside and substituted with a revised assessment reflecting the court's findings.