Clancy and Tranter (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered a dispute between Clancy and Tranter concerning the percentage of care arrangements for their child. The core of the disagreement involved whether there had been a change to the likely pattern of care, which would necessitate a review and potential alteration of existing child support percentage of care determinations. The Tribunal was tasked with determining the appropriate percentage of care to be applied for child support purposes.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to ascertain whether the factual circumstances surrounding the child's care had altered sufficiently to warrant revoking the existing percentage of care determinations and making new ones. This required an assessment of the evidence presented by both parties regarding the actual and prospective care arrangements for the child.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that a change to the likely pattern of care had indeed occurred. In reaching this conclusion, the Tribunal applied the principles governing the assessment of percentage of care under the relevant child support legislation, which allows for new determinations when there is a material change in the care arrangements. The Tribunal carefully weighed the evidence to determine the revised pattern of care and its implications for the child support assessment.