Lampkin and Butters (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the father, Mr Lampkin, against a decision of the Child Support Registrar (the Registrar) regarding the assessment of child support payable to the mother, Ms Butters. The dispute centred on the Registrar's decision to depart from the statutory child support formula and assess the father with a higher amount of child support than would otherwise have been calculated. The appeal was heard by a single judge of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Registrar had erred in departing from the child support formula under section 117 of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). Specifically, the Court had to determine if the father's non-employment and voluntary unemployment constituted a relevant circumstance that justified the Registrar's departure from the standard assessment. The Court also considered whether the Registrar had adequately considered the father's capacity to earn income.

The Court found that the Registrar had erred in departing from the formula. It was held that voluntary unemployment, in itself, was not a sufficient ground to depart from the statutory formula under section 117. The Court emphasised that a departure under section 117 requires a consideration of whether the departure is 'just and equitable' having regard to the specific circumstances of the case. In this instance, the Registrar had not sufficiently demonstrated that the father's voluntary unemployment was a circumstance that made the standard assessment 'unjust or inequitable'. The Court noted that while a parent's capacity to earn income is a relevant consideration, the Registrar's decision to impute income to the father was not adequately supported by the evidence presented.

The appeal was allowed, and the Registrar's decision was set aside. The matter was remitted to the Child Support Registrar to be reassessed in accordance with the statutory child support formula.