Fairburne and Oaldham (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by Fairburne against an administrative assessment of child support made by the Registrar. The dispute centred on the accuracy of the income figure used in the assessment and whether a new year-to-date figure should have been applied. The case was heard by S Trotter SM in the [Court Name].

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Registrar had erred in determining the relevant income figure for the purposes of the child support assessment. Specifically, the Court had to consider whether the income information available to the Registrar was sufficient to make an accurate assessment, and if not, what steps should have been taken.

The Senior Member found that the income information provided to the Registrar was not sufficiently accurate to form the basis of a reliable assessment. Consequently, the Senior Member determined that the decision under review should be set aside. The matter was remitted back to the Registrar with a direction for reconsideration, implying that further steps would be required to accurately ascertain the relevant income.