HVQM and Child Support Registrar (Child support second review)

This matter concerned a review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) of a decision by the Child Support Registrar regarding a percentage of care dispute between the Mother and the Father concerning their child, S. The AAT was required to determine whether there had been a change in the percentage of care of S between the parents.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the evidence presented sufficiently established a change in the percentage of care of S. This involved assessing the reliability and clarity of various forms of evidence, including calendar entries, a handwritten timeline, and oral testimony from both parents, to determine the actual nights S spent with each parent during the relevant period. The Tribunal also considered the impact of discrepancies in the evidence and gaps in the provided documentation.

The Tribunal found that the evidence presented was insufficient to satisfy it that there had been a change in care. While the Mother claimed care changed from 19 June 2019 and the Father suggested a slightly later date in July 2019, the Tribunal was unable to definitively establish the extent of care provided by each parent. This was due to the ambiguity of notations on photocopied calendar entries, a gap in the calendar evidence for approximately five months, and the illegibility of a handwritten timeline provided by the Mother, which also contained undecipherable periods. The Tribunal noted that even where the Father had initially indicated the Mother's calendar entries appeared accurate, he later raised concerns about her marking days as having care when S was in childcare and he had collected S overnight.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the AAT1 decision and substituted its own decision, which had the practical effect of upholding the Objection Decision.