Lindsay and Lindsay (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia regarding a decision of the Child Support Registrar. The parties, referred to as Lindsay and Lindsay, were in dispute over the crediting of a payment made for school fees against their child support assessment. The Registrar had determined that the payment should not be credited in the circumstances.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Registrar's decision to refuse to credit the payment for school fees was correct. Specifically, the Court had to consider whether the payment constituted a "prescribed payment" for the purposes of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) and, if so, whether there were grounds to refuse to credit it under the relevant provisions.

The Court affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that the payment made for school fees did not meet the criteria for a prescribed payment that could be credited against the child support assessment. The Court applied the principles established in the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* and relevant case law, which outline the specific circumstances under which payments made directly to a third party, such as for school fees, can be recognised as satisfying child support obligations. In this instance, the payment did not fall within the prescribed categories for crediting.