Harmon and Kovachev (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Harmon (the applicant) concerning a child support administrative assessment made by the Registrar. The dispute centred on whether the adjusted taxable income for a past period should be changed to a lower amount. The applicant sought to have the assessment altered, but the Registrar had determined that the conditions for changing the incomes to lower amounts were not met.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had satisfied the requirements of section 117 of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) to have the adjusted taxable income for a past period changed. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant had demonstrated that the income figure used in the assessment was incorrect and that a lower figure should have been used.

The Tribunal affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that the applicant had not provided sufficient evidence to meet the conditions for changing the assessed income to a lower amount. The Tribunal applied the principles of section 117, which requires a party seeking to alter an assessment based on past income to demonstrate that the original assessment was incorrect and that a lower income figure is appropriate. Without such evidence, the original assessment stands.