Gill and Crabbe (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by Mr. Crabbe (the applicant) to revoke an existing child support percentage of care order in favour of Ms. Gill. The applicant sought to have the percentage of care attributed to him reduced, arguing that there had been a significant and ongoing change to the pattern of care for the child. The respondent, Ms. Gill, opposed this application.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had demonstrated a material change in the pattern of care since the last assessment of the child support percentage of care. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the circumstances warranted a revocation of the existing order and a reassessment of the care arrangements.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that the applicant had not established a material change in the pattern of care that would justify revoking the existing percentage of care order. The Tribunal applied the principles governing changes to child support percentages of care, which require a significant and ongoing alteration to the care arrangements. In this instance, the Tribunal was not satisfied that such a change had occurred to the extent required by the legislation.