Joyner and Jauncy (Child support)

[2023] AATA 1789

Joyner and Jauncy (Child support) [2023] AATA 1789 (10 May 2023)

DIVISION:Social Services & Child Support Division

REVIEW NUMBER:  2022/MC025200

APPLICANT:  Mr Joyner

OTHER PARTIES:  Child Support Registrar

Ms Jauncy

TRIBUNAL:Member S Letch

DECISION DATE:  10 May 2023

DECISION:

The Tribunal sets aside the decision under review and, in substitution, decides that Ms Jauncy’s application to extend the child support case beyond [Child 1’s] 18th birthday is refused.

CATCHWORDS

CHILD SUPPORT – particulars of the administrative assessment – application to extend the child support assessment beyond the child’s eighteenth birthday – whether the child was in full-time secondary education on her eighteenth birthday – application should not be accepted - decision under review set aside and substituted

Names used in all published decisions are pseudonyms. Any references appearing in square brackets indicate that information has been omitted from this decision and replaced with generic information so as not to identify involved individuals as required by subsections 16(2AB)-16(2AC) of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988.

REASONS FOR DECISION

1. Mr Joyner and Ms Jauncy are the parents of [Child 1], born [Date 1] May 2004. This matter concerns a decision by Child Support to accept an application from Ms Jauncy to extend the child support case beyond [Child 1’s] 18th birthday (on [Date 1] May 2022).

2. It is convenient to set out some extracts from the objection decision dated 10 November 2022:

   DECISION UNDER REVIEW

   Mr Joyner is objecting to our decision made on 1 7 August 2022 to accept Ms Jauncy's application to
   extend the child support assessment beyond [Child 1’s] 18th birthday.

   Mr Joyner has objected to this decision stating he has been advised by [College 1] that the course has been reduced to two days of 3.5 hours per day, totalling seven hours per week. Mr Joyner said he does not believe this constitutes fulltime education.

   …

   A carer entitled to child support for a child who is turning 18 can apply to extend a child support
   assessment (including one based on an agreement) provided the child will be in full-time secondary education on their 18th birthday.

   A secondary school includes a school, T AFE College, or any other educational institution which
   provides full-time seconda1y education.

   Ms Jauncy made an application to extend the child support assessment for [Child 1] on 16 May 2022. We must accept the extension application only if a set of specific conditions are met.

   Those conditions are that;

   1. [Child 1] had turned 17;
   2. The application was made before [Child 1’s] 18th birthday;
   3. An assessment or agreement is in force (or is likely to be in force) on the day before [Child 1] turns 18;
   4. [Child 1] is likely to be in full-time seconda1y education on her 18th birthday; and
   5. The last day of the secondary school year will be within 365 days after [Child 1’s] 18th birthday.

   [Child 1] was born on [Date 1] May 2004, meaning she turned 17 on [Date 1] May 2021, and turns 18 on [Date 1] May 2022. Ms Jauncy made her application to extend the child support assessment beyond [Child 1’s] 18^th birthday on 16 May 2022. The application was made when [Child 1] was 17 years old and before her 18^th birthday. At the time of the extension application an assessment was in force and we are satisfied it was in force on the day before [Child 1’s]  18^th birthday.

   Mr Joyner provided a copy of an email from [College 1] confirming [Child 1’s] official enrolment
   date to be 6 May 2022.

   Mr Joyner objected stating [College 1] has reduced the course [Child 1] is enrolled in down to two
   3.5 hours days per week, totalling seven hours per week. Mr Joyner does not believe this constitutes fulltime education.

   Ms Jauncy provided evidence in the form of a letter from [College 1] confirming [Child 1] is enrolled in
   the equivalent of fulltime secondary education that delivers a certificate of general education
   coursework as required by the state regulatory authority with the course to end on 13 January 2023.

   We conducted a search on website to determine the last school date for 2022 and find the finish date for school to be 20 December 2022.

   We are satisfied these criteria have been met.

   As we are satisfied all conditions are met, Ms Jauncy's application to extend the child support
   assessment beyond [Child 1’s] 18th birthday is accepted.

   Mr Joyner's objection is partly allowed.

3. Mr Joyner was represented by his lawyer, [Representative A]. Both parties participated in the hearing by conference telephone. Ms Jauncy submitted additional materials after the hearing, which the Tribunal did not accept into evidence.

4. Simply put, the case for Mr Joyner is that [Child 1] was not enrolled in secondary education on her 18th birthday. Her enrolment at [College 1] had not been completed; her enrolment was finalised on 6 June 2022 (see folio 75 of the Child Support hearing papers), after [Child 1’s] birthday. [Child 1’s] enrolment at [College 2] had terminated with effect from 25 March 2022; this much is confirmed by the letter from the Principal and Assistant Principal dated 8 June 2022. The full contents of that letter were supplied by Mr Joyner: folio A7. [Representative A] contended that the copy of that letter supplied by Ms Jauncy to Child Support (folio 54 of the Child Support hearing papers) had been doctored to give them the impression that [Child 1] was still enrolled at [College 2]; Ms Jauncy had removed the second line revealing [Child 1’s] last day of enrolment was 25 March 2022.

5. In short, Ms Jauncy refused to confirm or deny that she had doctored the [College 2] letter. She raised historical matters and expressed her general dissatisfaction with what she considers an unfair assessment over the years.

6. The present application before me is of a much narrower focus. Section 151B of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 provides the following:

   Application for assessment/agreement to continue beyond child's 18th birthday

   (1)  If a child turns 18 during a year in which the child is in full-time secondary education, a carer entitled to child support for the child may apply for an administrative assessment, or a child support agreement, in relation to the child to continue in force until the last day of the secondary school year in which the child turns 18.

   Note:        For full-time secondary education , last day and secondary school see section 5.

   (1A)  If a relevant dependent child of a parent turns 18 during a year in which the child is in full-time secondary education, the parent may apply for the relevant dependent child to be taken into account in any relevant administrative assessment until the last day of the secondary school year in which the child turns 18.

   (2)  The application must be:

   (a)  made to the Registrar in the manner specified by the Registrar; and

   (b)  in the case of an application under subsection (1) for a child support agreement to continue in force--signed by both the carer entitled to child support for the child and the liable parent in relation to the child.

   Note:        Section 150A provides for the Registrar to specify the manner in which an application may be made.

7. Section 151C, so far as is relevant, provides the following:

   Application for assessment/agreement to continue--Registrar's decision

   (1) The Registrar must either accept or refuse to accept an application under section 151B.

   (2)  The Registrar must accept the application if, and only if, the Registrar is satisfied that:

   (a)  the child has turned 17; and

   (b)  any of the following applies:

   (i)  if the application is made under subsection 151B(1)--an administrative assessment, or a child support agreement, in relation to the child either is in force, or is likely to be in force, on the day before the child's 18th birthday;

   (ia)  a suspension determination under section 150F provides that child support is not payable in respect of the day before the child's 18th birthday;

   (ii)  an administrative assessment that takes the child into account is in force, or is likely to be in force, on the day before the child's 18th birthday; and

   (c)  the child is likely to be in full-time secondary education on the child's 18th birthday; and

   (d)  the child's 18th birthday will occur on or before the last day of the secondary school year; and

   (e)  either:

   (i)  the application is made before the child's 18th birthday; or

   (ii)  there are, in the Registrar's opinion, exceptional circumstances justifying the making of the application after the child's 18th birthday.

   Note:        For full-time secondary education , last day and secondary school see section 5.

8. I find that [Child 1’s] enrolment with [College 2] came to an end on 25 March 2022. I am satisfied that [Child 1’s] enrolment with [College 1] had not been formalised until 6 June 2022, and that she did not commence classes until 17 June 2022. This is confirmed by the evidence from [College 1] in the Child Support hearing papers. Simply put, [Child 1’s] enrolment remained conditional upon her meeting [College 1’s] requirements as of the day [Child 1] turned 18 years of age, and that she was not “in full-time secondary education” until 17 June 2022.

9. I found Ms Jauncy’s evidence evasive. I am satisfied that she knowingly submitted a falsified copy of the letter dated 8 June 2022 (by obliterating the second line) to Child Support with a view to leading them to the understanding that [Child 1] was still enrolled with [College 2] when she turned 18 years of age.

10. As a result, on the day [Child 1] turned 18 years of age, she was not enrolled at [College 2], nor [College 1]. I find that at the time of Ms Jauncy’s application on 16 May 2022, [Child 1] was not likely to be in full-time secondary education on her birthday given she had only just commenced the process for enrolling at [College 1] (as of 26 May 2022, [Child 1’s] enrolment status was “pending” and “still progressing”: folio 50 of the Child Support hearing papers). [College 1] confirms that enrolment had not been “finalised” until 6 June 2022, and that her “start date” was 17 June 2022 (almost four weeks after [Child 1’s] 18th birthday). I therefore find the application failed to meet the requirement of section 151(2)(c); accordingly, the application to extend the case should have been refused.

11. As I have reached a different conclusion to the objections officer, the decision under review will be set aside.

DECISION

The Tribunal sets aside the decision under review and, in substitution, decides that Ms Jauncy’s application to extend the child support case beyond [Child 1’s] 18th birthday is refused.