McIntyre and McCaffry (Child support)

This matter concerned an application for review of a child support administrative assessment. The applicants, McIntyre and McCaffry, sought to vary a fixed annual rate of child support payable by one party to the other. The review concerned the determination of the relevant date for a change in circumstances affecting the assessment.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine the correct date from which a change in a party's income, specifically a reduction to low-income earner status, should be applied for the purposes of calculating child support. This involved interpreting the provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* and related regulations concerning the timing of adjustments to assessments following a change in a liable parent's income.

Senior Member R Ellis reasoned that the legislative intent behind the child support scheme is to ensure that assessments accurately reflect a parent's capacity to pay. The Tribunal considered the specific circumstances of the income reduction and the date it became effective. Applying the relevant legislative provisions, the Tribunal determined that the change in income should be recognised from the date the reduction in earnings occurred, rather than a later date. This approach ensures that the assessment reflects the parent's actual financial position as closely as possible from the point of change.

The decision under review was varied to reflect the adjusted child support assessment from the determined relevant date.