Krout and Tipton (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the father, Krout, against a departure determination made by the Registrar of the Child Support Agency concerning child support payable to the mother, Tipton. The Registrar had departed from the assessment under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) on the basis of the father's financial resources, specifically his income from a business.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Registrar had erred in her decision to depart from the assessment. This required the court to consider whether the Registrar had correctly applied the relevant provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) in assessing the father's income and financial resources, and whether the departure was justified on the facts. The court also had to determine if the Registrar's decision was otherwise affected by error.

The court found that the Registrar had made an error in her assessment of the father's income and financial resources, particularly in relation to the valuation of his business. The court noted that the Registrar had failed to adequately consider all relevant financial information and had not properly applied the principles for assessing business income under the Act. Consequently, the court set aside the Registrar's departure determination and substituted its own decision. The court ordered that the child support assessment remain as originally assessed, and that the father was not liable for any additional child support as a result of the departure application.