Marchbank and Legum (Child support)

The matter of *Marchbank and Legum* concerned an application for review of a child support administrative assessment. The applicant, Marchbank, sought to have the adjusted taxable incomes for past periods applied to the liable parent's assessment. The decision under review was made by the Registrar of the Child Support Registrar.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Registrar had erred in failing to consider and apply the adjusted taxable incomes of the liable parent for past income periods when making the administrative assessment. This involved determining the correct interpretation and application of the relevant provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) concerning the calculation of adjusted taxable income for the purposes of child support assessments.

The court found that the Registrar had not adequately considered the evidence relating to the liable parent's adjusted taxable incomes for the relevant past periods. The court reasoned that the legislation requires the Registrar to take into account all relevant information when making an assessment, and that the failure to do so constituted an error. Consequently, the court set aside the decision under review and remitted the matter back to the Child Support Registrar for reconsideration. The court provided directions for this reconsideration, emphasizing the need to properly assess the liable parent's adjusted taxable incomes for the past periods.