Levitan and Karlin (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the liable parent, Mr Levitan, against a departure determination made by the Child Support Registrar concerning child support payments for his child with Ms Karlin. The Registrar had determined that Mr Levitan's child support assessment should be departed from, increasing the amount payable.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Registrar had erred in her assessment of Mr Levitan's income and financial resources when making the departure determination. Specifically, the court was required to consider whether a property settlement received by Mr Levitan was correctly included as a financial resource, and whether the Registrar had properly considered Mr Levitan's earning capacity.

The court reasoned that a property settlement, in the context of a family law property settlement, is not to be taken into account as a financial resource for the purposes of child support assessments under the relevant legislation. The court found that the Registrar had erred in including the property settlement as a financial resource. Furthermore, the court determined that the criteria for assessing earning capacity were not applicable in this instance, as there was no evidence of undisclosed financial resources or a deliberate reduction in earning capacity.

Consequently, the court set aside the decision under review and remitted the matter back to the Child Support Registrar with directions to reconsider the departure determination in accordance with the court's findings.