McInnes and Entwistle (Child support)

This matter concerned an application by the respondent father, Mr. Entwistle, to discharge a child support assessment made by the Child Support Registrar. The applicant mother, Ms. McInnes, sought to have the assessment remain in place. The dispute arose from the father's assertion that he had been paying child support directly to the mother for a period of approximately 18 months, and that these payments should be recognised as discharging his child support liability. The matter was heard by Magistrate Dordevic in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the child support payments made directly by the father to the mother, outside of the formal child support scheme administered by the Child Support Registrar, could be considered as discharging his statutory child support obligations. Specifically, the Court had to determine if such private arrangements could override or be credited against a registered child support assessment, and under what circumstances, if any, a registered assessment could be discharged or varied due to such direct payments.

Magistrate Dordevic reasoned that the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) and the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989* (Cth) established a comprehensive statutory scheme for the assessment and collection of child support. The Court held that payments made directly between parents, without the express approval or direction of the Child Support Registrar, did not satisfy the statutory requirements for discharging a child support liability under a registered assessment. The Court emphasised that the legislative framework prioritised the formal collection and disbursement of child support through the Registrar to ensure certainty and compliance. Consequently, the father's direct payments, while potentially reflecting a voluntary contribution, were not legally recognised as fulfilling his obligations under the existing assessment.

The Court ordered that the child support assessment remain in force and that the father's application to discharge the assessment be dismissed.