Chipp and Chew (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by Mr. Chipp (the applicant) concerning a child support assessment for his child with Ms. Chew (the respondent). The dispute centred on whether a fixed annual rate of child support should apply, given that the applicant's income exceeded the allowable limit for such an assessment. The applicant sought to have the fixed annual rate not apply, while the respondent contended it should.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had established grounds to refuse the application of a fixed annual rate of child support. This required the Tribunal to consider the provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) relating to income thresholds and the circumstances under which a fixed annual rate might be disapplied.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's income was significantly above the threshold for a fixed annual rate to apply. Applying the relevant legislative provisions, the Tribunal determined that the applicant had not provided sufficient evidence or justification to warrant departing from the standard assessment. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the application for the fixed annual rate not to apply should be refused.

The Tribunal set aside the previous decision under review and substituted it with its own decision, ordering that the fixed annual rate of child support should apply.