Marris and Marris (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by the father, Mr Marris, concerning a child support administrative assessment. The dispute centred on the date from which an estimated income figure should be applied for the purposes of calculating child support liability.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the Child Support Registrar had erred in refusing to backdate the estimated income figure to a date prior to the father's application for the estimate. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the relevant legislative provisions governing the application and effect of income estimates in child support assessments.

The Tribunal's reasoning affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding no legislative provision that permitted the backdating of an income estimate to a period before the date the estimate was formally applied for. The Tribunal concluded that the assessment correctly applied the estimated income from the date of the application, as per the governing legislation.