CJWN and Child Support Registrar (Child support second review)

This matter concerned a review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) of a decision regarding child support payments. The parties involved were CJWN (the Mother) and the Child Support Registrar, with the Father also having made written submissions. The dispute centred on an objection to a change in care percentages for the parties' daughter, which had implications for the child support assessment.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether special circumstances existed to justify an extension of time for the Mother to object to the care percentage change and to apply for an external review. A further issue was whether an interim care determination should apply, and if so, for what period, considering the impact of Federal Court parenting orders and the Mother's mental health and familial circumstances.

The Tribunal reasoned that the Mother's oral evidence regarding her mental health was corroborated by external evidence. It also noted that the Father's decision not to participate in the proceedings meant certain assertions made by the Mother regarding his actions contributing to her mental health issues could be accepted as fact. The Tribunal found that the Mother's inability to resume her usual care responsibilities for the daughter, due to her father's terminal illness and subsequent death, and the Father's subsequent actions in relation to the daughter's care, constituted special circumstances.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the previous decision and substituted a finding that an interim care period applied from 21 July 2018 to 14 May 2019. During this interim period, the care percentages were determined to be 28% for the Mother and 72% for the Father, reverting to actual care arrangements thereafter.