Engman and Engman (Child support)

The matter of *Engman and Engman* concerned a dispute over child support payments, specifically whether a payment made for school fees qualified as a "prescribed payment" under the relevant legislation. The decision was made by Member Baulch of the Child Support Special Powers Division.

The central legal issue before the court was to determine if the payment made by the father for the child's school fees, which was not made prior to the credit being applied for, constituted a prescribed payment for the purposes of the child support assessment. This involved interpreting the definition of "prescribed payment" and the timing requirements for such payments.

Member Baulch affirmed the decision under review, finding that the payment for school fees did not meet the criteria for a prescribed payment. The reasoning likely centred on the specific wording of the legislation regarding when such payments must be made in relation to the application for credit, and the father's failure to meet this temporal requirement meant the payment could not be recognised as a prescribed payment for child support purposes.