DLDX and Child Support Registrar (Child support second review)

This matter concerned a review of a child support assessment for a child named B. The parties involved were the Mother and the Child Support Registrar. The dispute centred on whether there had been a change in the percentage of care arrangements for B from 1 October 2018, which would necessitate revoking the existing determination of percentage care and making a new determination. The review was conducted by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

The AAT was required to determine two primary issues. Firstly, whether a change in the percentage of care arrangements for B from 1 October 2018 had occurred, justifying the revocation of the existing percentage care determination. Secondly, if such a change was found, the Tribunal needed to determine what new percentage of care should be applied and from what date.

The Mother provided evidence that after October 2018, B spent alternate weekends with the Father, but this arrangement was inconsistent, with B staying with the Father only 20-35 nights over a 365-day period. She asserted that this arrangement was the same as that in place before October 2018. The Mother stated she reassessed B's care percentage in October 2018 due to changes in his brother's arrangements, estimating B was with the Father only 1 or 2 nights per month, resulting in 95% care with her. She presented a care calendar for October-December 2018, which she claimed showed B with the Father for only one night per month, explaining it was a transposed record from a lost electronic calendar. The Tribunal considered the oral evidence of both parents and various documents submitted.

The Tribunal found that the Mother's evidence regarding a change in care arrangements from 1 October 2018 was not sufficiently substantiated. While the Mother claimed a reassessment occurred in October 2018, she could not pinpoint a precise date for any change in the actual care arrangements for B. The Tribunal noted that the Mother's assertion of a 95% care percentage was based on her reassessment rather than a demonstrable change in the established pattern of care. Consequently, the Tribunal determined that there was no change in the percentage of care arrangements for B from 1 October 2018 that warranted revoking the existing determination.