Gedye and Blant (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the dispute between the applicant, Mr. Gedye, and the respondent, Ms. Blant, concerning an administrative assessment of child support. Mr. Gedye sought to have an employer withholding provision, which required his employer to deduct child support payments directly from his salary, not apply to him.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the employer withholding provision should be set aside under section 117 of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). This required the Tribunal to determine if it was appropriate to depart from the standard collection method due to the specific circumstances of the case.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that Mr. Gedye had not established sufficient grounds to warrant setting aside the employer withholding provision. The Tribunal applied the principles of section 117, which allows for departure from standard collection methods only in exceptional circumstances. In this instance, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the circumstances presented by Mr. Gedye met the threshold for such a departure, and therefore the employer withholding was to remain in effect.