McCosker and MacFeat (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by McCosker (the applicant) against a child support assessment made by the Registrar of the Child Support Agency. The dispute centred on the Registrar's decision to accept an estimate of MacFeat's (the respondent's) income for the purposes of calculating child support liability, and whether this estimate should have been accepted at an earlier stage of the assessment process. The appeal was heard by M Baulch M.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Registrar had erred in accepting the estimated income of the respondent for the relevant child support period. This involved considering the circumstances under which an estimate of income is permissible under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) and the relevant regulations, and whether the evidence before the Registrar at the time supported the use of such an estimate. The Court also had to determine if the timing of the acceptance of this estimate was appropriate.

M Baulch M affirmed the decision of the Registrar. The Court reasoned that the Registrar was entitled to make an estimate of the respondent's income in the absence of sufficient information to determine the actual income. The evidence presented indicated that the respondent had failed to provide adequate documentation of his income, necessitating the use of an estimate. The Court found no error in the Registrar's approach to estimating the income and concluded that the estimate was reasonable in the circumstances. The decision under review was therefore affirmed.