Farlow and Glenister (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the dispute between Farlow and Glenister concerning the refusal to credit non-agency payments made in lieu of child support. The applicant, Farlow, sought review of the Child Support Registrar's decision to refuse to credit these payments.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether payments made by the applicant to a third party, rather than directly to the payee or through the Child Support Agency, constituted valid child support payments that should be credited against the applicant's child support liability. The Tribunal was required to determine if these non-agency payments met the criteria for recognition under the relevant child support legislation.

The Tribunal affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that the payments made by the applicant to a third party did not satisfy the requirements for non-agency payments to be credited. The legislation requires specific conditions to be met for such payments to be recognised, and the Tribunal determined that these conditions were not fulfilled in this instance. Consequently, the applicant's liability for child support remained undischarged by these payments.