Firby and Percy (Child support)

The applicant, Firby, sought to extend a child support assessment beyond the eighteenth birthday of the child, Percy. The respondent, Percy, was the child in question. The matter came before the Child Support Registrar and subsequently the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Percy was undertaking full-time secondary education on his eighteenth birthday, a prerequisite for extending child support assessments beyond that age under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth).

The Tribunal considered the evidence presented regarding Percy's enrolment and attendance at a secondary school. It applied the provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth), specifically focusing on the definition of "full-time secondary education" and the timing of that education in relation to the child's eighteenth birthday. The Tribunal found that the evidence did not establish that Percy was undertaking full-time secondary education on his eighteenth birthday.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted a new decision refusing the application to extend the child support assessment beyond Percy's eighteenth birthday.