Devenport and Attlesea (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was asked to review a decision by the Registrar of Child Support concerning the percentage of care for the child. The dispute arose between the parties, identified as Devenport and Attlesea, regarding the likely pattern of care for the child from the commencement of the child support administrative assessment. The AAT ultimately declined to make a determination under subsection 95N(2) of the relevant legislation.

The primary legal issue before the AAT was whether it was appropriate to make a determination under subsection 95N(2) regarding the percentage of care. This subsection allows the AAT to make such a determination if it is satisfied that the child's care pattern has been substantially the same since the start of the administrative assessment. The AAT was required to consider the evidence presented by the parties to ascertain if this threshold was met.

The AAT's reasoning focused on the evidence before it, which did not satisfy the requirement for a substantially similar care pattern. Consequently, the AAT concluded that it could not make a determination under subsection 95N(2). The decision under review was therefore set aside and substituted with a new decision by the AAT.