Jowitt and Child Support Registrar (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an appeal by Mr. Jowitt against a departure determination made by the Child Support Registrar. The dispute concerned the assessment of child support payments, specifically whether the Registrar had correctly taken into account the income, property, and financial resources of both parents, including benefits derived from a rental property, when making the determination.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether a ground for departure from the standard child support assessment provisions was established under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). This involved determining if the rental property income constituted a relevant financial resource that should be considered in the child support assessment, and if its exclusion from the initial assessment resulted in an unjust or inequitable outcome for either party.

The Tribunal found that the benefits derived from the rental property were indeed a financial resource that should have been considered. It reasoned that the income generated from this property represented a capacity to provide financial support that was not adequately reflected in the standard assessment. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that a ground for departure was established, as the standard assessment did not accurately reflect the parties' financial circumstances and would lead to an unjust outcome. The Tribunal set aside the Registrar's decision and substituted its own determination.