Morrow and Radford (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the dispute between Morrow and Radford concerning a child support administrative assessment. The primary issue was whether the Registrar of Child Support should have refused to estimate the income of Radford, the liable parent, for the purposes of the assessment.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the Registrar erred in accepting an estimate of Radford's income when making the child support assessment. This involved considering the provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) and the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1988* (Cth) relating to the estimation of a liable parent's income in the absence of sufficient information.

The Tribunal found that the Registrar had sufficient grounds to estimate Radford's income. It reasoned that the Registrar was entitled to make an estimate based on the available information, and that the refusal to do so would have unduly delayed or prevented the assessment. The Tribunal applied the principles that the Registrar has a broad discretion to estimate income where necessary to make an assessment, and that such estimates should not be lightly set aside. The Tribunal concluded that the Registrar's decision to estimate Radford's income was reasonable and in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions.

The Tribunal set aside the original decision and substituted its own decision, affirming the administrative assessment based on the estimated income of Radford.