Leong and Jarman (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an objection lodged by the applicant, Mr Leong, concerning a child support assessment. The dispute centred on the percentage of care arrangements for the parties' child, with Mr Leong seeking to have existing percentage of care determinations revoked and new ones made. The objection was lodged outside the prescribed time limit, raising the issue of whether there were special circumstances to permit the late lodgement.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the objection had been lodged within the time permitted by the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth), and if not, whether there were special circumstances that warranted accepting the late objection. Further, the Tribunal had to determine if there had been a change to the likely pattern of care that would justify revoking existing percentage of care determinations and making new ones.

The Tribunal found that the objection was lodged late and that there were no special circumstances to justify accepting it out of time. Consequently, the Tribunal did not proceed to consider the merits of the proposed changes to the percentage of care. The Tribunal's decision under review was therefore set aside and substituted with a decision that the objection be dismissed.