Elfers and Child Support Registrar (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an appeal by Mr Elfers against the Child Support Registrar's refusal to grant an extension of time to object to a child support assessment. The core of the dispute concerned whether the Registrar had erred in law by refusing this extension, despite the significant delay in lodging the objection.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the Registrar had correctly exercised their discretion in refusing the extension of time. This involved assessing whether the Registrar had properly weighed all relevant factors, including the length of the delay, the arguable merit of the objection, and the potential prejudice to the other party.

The Tribunal affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that the very lengthy delay in lodging the objection was a significant factor. While acknowledging that the objection may have had arguable merit, the Tribunal concluded that the Registrar had correctly weighed this against the substantial prejudice that would likely be caused to the other party by granting an extension. The Tribunal found no error in the Registrar's exercise of discretion.