DWTR and Child Support Registrar (Child support second review)

This matter concerned a review by the father of a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) on 14 June 2018. The dispute centred on the percentage of care attributed to each parent for their child, Frank, which directly impacted child support assessments. Prior to February 2017, the father had a 59% care responsibility for Frank, with the mother having 41%. This arrangement changed when the father advised the Child Support Registrar on 7 February 2017 that Frank had been in his sole care since early December 2016. Consequently, on 8 March 2017, the Registrar reassessed the care percentages to 100% for the father and 0% for the mother, resulting in a new child support assessment under which the mother was liable to pay the father. The mother objected to this decision on 20 November 2017, which was subsequently disallowed on 4 April 2018. The AAT's first review decision on 14 June 2018 set aside the disallowance and reinstated the original care percentages from 17 August 2011, but only with effect from 20 November 2017, thereby preserving the reassessment for the period between 7 February 2017 and 19 November 2017.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether there had been a change to the likely pattern of care for Frank, the definition of a "care period" in the context of child support, and the date from which any revised care percentage determination should take effect. The Tribunal also considered whether there were special circumstances that prevented the mother from lodging her objection within the prescribed time.

The Tribunal reasoned that the Registrar's decision on 8 March 2017, which altered the care percentages, was a "care percentage decision" for the purposes of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 (CSAA). It found that the mother's objection was lodged within the time permitted by the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 (CSRCA), as the relevant care percentage decision was the one made on 8 March 2017, not the initial assessment from 2011. The Tribunal determined that there were no special circumstances that prevented the mother from lodging her objection in time. The Tribunal ultimately set aside the AAT's first review decision and remitted the matter to the AAT for redetermination according to law.