Lander and Child Support Registrar (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by Lander (the applicant) seeking an extension of time to lodge an objection against a departure determination made by the Child Support Registrar. The Registrar had refused to grant Lander an extension of time to object to the departure determination, and Lander sought a review of this refusal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Registrar's decision to refuse the extension of time was justified, or if the Tribunal should substitute its own decision and grant the extension. This required the Tribunal to assess whether Lander had provided reasonable grounds for the significant delay in lodging the objection and whether the proposed objection had sufficient merit to warrant an extension.

The Tribunal affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that the reasons provided by Lander for the delay were not reasonable. The Tribunal noted that Lander had been aware of the departure determination for a considerable period and had not presented compelling circumstances to explain the protracted delay. Furthermore, the Tribunal considered the merits of the proposed objection to be weak, which weighed against granting an extension. The Tribunal applied the principles that an applicant must demonstrate both reasonable grounds for the delay and a meritorious objection to justify an extension of time.