CSQG and Child Support Registrar (Child support second review)

This matter concerned a review of a child support percentage of care determination. The applicant, CSQG, sought to have a previous determination, which stated the other party had 100% care of the child, revoked and replaced. The dispute centred on the extent of CSQG's actual care of the child from 19 September 2012 onwards. The Child Support Registrar was also a party to the proceedings.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the existing percentage of care determination made on 6 June 2011 was still correct as at 19 September 2012. If it was found to be incorrect, the Tribunal then needed to determine the new percentage of care and the date from which that new determination should have effect. This involved assessing whether there had been a change in the pattern of care during the relevant period, which was from 19 September 2012 to 4 May 2017.

The Tribunal considered conflicting evidence from the applicant and the other party regarding the applicant's care arrangements. The applicant provided various statements and evidence suggesting different levels of care over time, including periods of shared care and 100% care. Conversely, the other party contended that the applicant had not had significant care of the child and that the applicant's claims were inconsistent and untrue. The Tribunal applied the ordinary meaning of "pattern of care," as interpreted in *Parent A and Child Support Registrar and Anor* [2013] AATA 562, which allows for flexibility and does not require unbending regularity, but rather a regular and intelligible form discernible in the actions or situations.

Ultimately, the Tribunal affirmed the existing determination of percentage of care. This decision was based on the finding that the evidence did not establish a consistent or discernible pattern of care that would warrant revoking the previous determination. The Tribunal noted that the child had turned 18 by the time of the application, rendering any new determination from that point of little practical benefit.