Kerrigan and Boswell (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal concerning a child support assessment. The applicants, Kerrigan and Boswell, sought to have a decision of the Child Support Registrar reviewed. The core of the dispute revolved around whether certain payments made by one party to the other constituted child support payments or were for other purposes, such as reimbursement for childcare expenses and a mobile phone bill.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the payments made by the father to the mother were intended by both parties to be child support payments, or if they were intended as reimbursement for specific expenses incurred by the mother on behalf of the children. This involved an assessment of the parties' intentions at the time the payments were made, particularly in light of the fact that these payments were made directly between the parties via bank transfer rather than through the Child Support Agency.

The Tribunal considered the evidence presented, including bank statements and correspondence between the parties. It applied the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988*, focusing on the intention of both the payer and the payee in making and receiving the payments. The Tribunal found that the payments were not made with the intention of satisfying the father's child support liability, but rather as reimbursement for expenses. Consequently, the decision under review was set aside and substituted.

The Tribunal ordered that the decision of the Child Support Registrar be set aside and substituted with a new decision.