Eidson and Brunton (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the liable parent, Mr. Eidson, against a departure determination made by the Child Support Registrar. The determination sought to increase the assessed child support payable by Mr. Eidson to the payee parent, Ms. Brunton, by attributing to him additional income derived from a family trust and benefits received from his business. The appeal was heard by Member Y Webb of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Registrar had erred in attributing to Mr. Eidson income and financial resources that were not directly in his possession but were derived from a family trust and benefits received from his business. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider whether these amounts constituted "income, property and financial resources" of the liable parent for the purposes of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) and, if so, whether the departure determination was justified.

Member Webb's reasoning focused on the nature of the benefits received by Mr. Eidson from his business and the family trust. The Tribunal found that Mr. Eidson had received significant benefits from his business, including salary, director's fees, and the use of company assets, which were properly attributable to him as income. Furthermore, the Tribunal considered the income distributed from the family trust to Mr. Eidson and concluded that this also constituted a financial resource that should be taken into account. The Tribunal applied the principles of attributing income and financial resources to a liable parent where it is just and equitable to do so, considering the overall financial position of the parent and the purpose of child support legislation.

The Tribunal set aside the original departure determination and substituted its own. It found that while the Registrar had correctly identified that Mr. Eidson had access to additional financial resources, the calculation of the departure amount was flawed. The Tribunal made a revised departure determination, attributing a higher amount of income to Mr. Eidson than his assessed taxable income, thereby increasing his child support liability.