Minami and Minami (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered a dispute between Mr Minami (the father) and Ms Minami (the mother) concerning a $7,000 payment made by the father towards their children's school fees. The father had sought to have this payment credited against his child support liability, which was registered for collection by the Child Support Registrar. An objections officer had previously disallowed the father's objection to the agency's refusal to credit this non-agency payment.

The central legal issue before the tribunal was whether the $7,000 payment made by the father to the children's school could be applied towards his registered child support liability. This required determining if the payment qualified as a "non-agency payment" that could be credited under section 71A of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988. Crucially, for section 71A to apply, the tribunal had to be satisfied that both the payer (the father) and the payee (the mother) intended the payment to be made in complete or partial satisfaction of the enforceable child support liability.

The tribunal acknowledged the father's intention, as conveyed in his text message to the mother, that the $7,000 payment was to be applied towards his share of the school fees and that he sought verification from her to ensure it would be recognised as such. However, the tribunal found that, in the context of a parenting plan where the parents agreed to share private education costs based on an assessment by the Child Support Government Agency, the mother did not understand that the father's payment of his portion of the school fees would reduce his child support payments. The mother stated she did not intend the father's payment to reduce the child support she received. Consequently, the tribunal could not find the necessary mutual intent for the payment to be deducted from the father's child support liability.

Accordingly, the tribunal affirmed the agency's decision that the $7,000 payment did not reduce the father's child support liability and was not an appropriate non-agency payment. The tribunal noted that if one parent incurs the full cost of school fees, they may contact the agency to discuss the Change of Assessment process to account for these costs.