Dabner v Child Support Registrar - [2020] FCCA 1262

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

DABNER v CHILD SUPPORT REGISTRAR & ANOR

[2020] FCCA 1262

Catchwords:
CHILD SUPPORT – Stay of orders – application to stay orders – where Notice of Appeal cavils with the merits of the decision – where no error of law established.

Legislation:

Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth), ss.44A, 44AAA.

Cases cited:

Child Support Registrar v Crabbe [2014] FamCAFC 10

Comcare v Nicolas [2014] FCA 638.

Applicant:

MR DABNER

Respondent:

CHILD SUPPORT REGISTRAR

Second Respondent:

MS DAILE

File Number:

BRG 851 of 2019

Judgment of:

Judge Cassidy

Hearing date:

13 March 2020

Date of Last Submission:

13 March 2020

Delivered at:

Brisbane

Delivered on:

21 May 2020

REPRESENTATION

Solicitors for the Applicant:

Self-Represented

Solicitors for the First Respondent:

Mills Oakley

Solicitors for the Second Respondent:

No Appearance

ORDERS

That the stay application filed on 27 August 2019 be dismissed.
That the First and Second Respondents costs of and incidental of today be reserved.

Hearing date

That the Appeal be set down for hearing at 9:00am on 17 September 2020 in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia at Brisbane.

Directions for hearing

That the Appellant have liberty to amend the Grounds of Appeal to plead the question or questions of law provided that such amendment has been filed and served by no later than 4.00 pm on 20 August 2020.
That in the event the Appellant intends to rely on the transcript (or part thereof) to establish the Grounds of Appeal, the Appellant shall obtain (and to that end pay the costs of the preparation of the transcript) and then file and serve an affidavit annexing the transcript no later than 20 August 2020 days prior to the hearing of the Appeal.
That, if applicable, the Appellant file and serve an affidavit exhibiting any additional documentation that was before the AAT but has not been supplied pursuant to s.46(1)(a) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 by no later than 4.00 pm on 20 August 2020.
That for the Appeal the following documents shall be relied upon:
(a)The Notice of Appeal;
(b)A copy of the decision of the AAT;
(c)The statement of reasons for that decision;
(d)The documents that were before the AAT in relation to the proceedings to which the Appeal relates and provided to the Court in accordance with s.46(1)(a) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975;
(e)Any affidavit filed pursuant to Order (6) above;
(f)The transcript of the AAT proceedings (if available);
(g)Any such other document(s) for which leave of the Court has been granted.
That the Appellant and Respondent must obtain leave of the Court to rely upon any other document or to receive further evidence.
That the parties shall have leave to inspect and copy the s.46(1)(a) documents.
That the Appellant file and serve written submissions by no later than 4.00 pm on 20 August 2020.
That the Respondent file and serve written submissions by no later than 4.00 pm on 3 September 2020.
That the Child Support…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Dabner v Child Support Registrar

Details

AGLC: Dabner v Child Support Registrar [2020] FCCA 1262
Case: [2020] FCCA 1262
Decision Date: 21 May 2020

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, Judge Cassidy considered an application for a stay of orders made in a child support matter. The appellant sought to stay the orders pending an appeal, but the application was contested by the respondents.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the appellant had established grounds for a stay of the child support orders. This required the court to assess the merits of the intended appeal, specifically whether the appellant could demonstrate an error of law in the decision under appeal.

Judge Cassidy dismissed the application for a stay. The reasoning was that the appellant's notice of appeal primarily challenged the factual findings and merits of the original decision, rather than identifying a specific error of law. The court applied the principle that a stay of orders is an exceptional remedy and will generally not be granted where the appeal does not raise arguable questions of law.

The court ordered that the stay application be dismissed. Directions were also given for the substantive appeal, including a date for the hearing, liberty for the appellant to amend grounds of appeal to plead questions of law, and requirements for filing and serving relevant documents and submissions.

Orders

Orders of the court

That the stay application filed on 27 August 2019 be dismissed.

That the First and Second Respondents costs of and incidental of today be reserved.

Hearing date

That the Appeal be set down for hearing at 9:00am on 17 September 2020 in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia at Brisbane.

Directions for hearing

That the Appellant have liberty to amend the Grounds of Appeal to plead the question or questions of law provided that such amendment has been filed and served by no later than 4.00 pm on 20 August 2020.

That in the event the Appellant intends to rely on the transcript (or part thereof) to establish the Grounds of Appeal, the Appellant shall obtain (and to that end pay the costs of the preparation of the transcript) and then file and serve an affidavit annexing the transcript no later than 20 August 2020 days prior to the hearing of the Appeal.

That, if applicable, the Appellant file and serve an affidavit exhibiting any additional documentation that was before the AAT but has not been supplied pursuant to s.46(1)(a) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 by no later than 4.00 pm on 20 August 2020.

That for the Appeal the following documents shall be relied upon:

(a) The Notice of Appeal;

(b) A copy of the decision of the AAT;

(d) The documents that were before the AAT in relation to the proceedings to which the Appeal relates and provided to the Court in accordance with s.46(1)(a) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975;

(e) Any affidavit filed pursuant to Order (6) above;

(f) The transcript of the AAT proceedings (if available);

(g) Any such other document(s) for which leave of the Court has been granted.

That the Appellant and Respondent must obtain leave of the Court to rely upon any other document or to receive further evidence.

That the parties shall have leave to inspect and copy the s.46(1)(a) documents.

10.

That the Appellant file and serve written submissions by no later than 4.00 pm on 20 August 2020.

11.

That the Respondent file and serve written submissions by no later than 4.00 pm on 3 September 2020.

12.

That the Child Support Registrar file and serve written submissions by no later than 4.00 pm on 10 September 2020.

13.

That each party have liberty to apply for any further directions on the giving of two (2) days’ notice in writing to the other.

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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