Linden and Fey (Child support)

The matter of *Linden and Fey* concerned a dispute over the percentage of care arrangements for a child, brought before the Child Support Registrar and subsequently reviewed by the Child Support Appeals Tribunal. The core of the disagreement revolved around whether there had been a change to the likely pattern of care that would justify a revocation of existing percentage of care determinations and the making of new ones.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether the Registrar had erred in revoking the existing percentage of care determinations and making new ones, specifically in light of the argument that no interim period had been applied. This required the Tribunal to consider the criteria for changing percentage of care determinations under the relevant legislation and whether the Registrar had correctly applied these criteria.

The Tribunal affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that the Registrar had correctly identified a change in the likely pattern of care. The Tribunal reasoned that the Registrar was empowered to revoke existing determinations and make new ones when such a change was established, and that the absence of an interim period did not invalidate the Registrar's authority to make the new determinations. The legal principle applied was that a change in the likely pattern of care is a sufficient ground for the Registrar to reassess and alter the percentage of care arrangements.