Heidrich and Lavoie (Child support)

This matter concerned an application for review of a departure determination made by the Child Support Registrar. The applicant, Ms. Lavoie, sought to have the Registrar's decision set aside and substituted with her own proposed orders. The respondent, Mr. Heidrich, was the liable parent for child support payments.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Child Support Registrar had erred in making a departure determination under section 117 of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). Specifically, the court had to consider whether the Registrar had correctly assessed the income, property, and financial resources of the liable parent, Mr. Heidrich, and whether these factors constituted a ground for departure from the administrative assessment of child support.

The court found that the Registrar had failed to properly consider all relevant information regarding Mr. Heidrich's financial position, including certain assets and income streams that were not adequately accounted for in the initial assessment. By failing to give due weight to these factors, the Registrar's decision to depart from the assessment was deemed to be based on an incomplete and inaccurate understanding of the liable parent's financial circumstances. The court therefore concluded that the Registrar's decision was not justified under the relevant provisions of the Act.

The court set aside the Child Support Registrar's departure determination and substituted it with its own orders, which reflected a revised assessment of the liable parent's financial resources and a different approach to the departure from the administrative assessment.