Mr Warren v Child Support Registrar

MR WARREN
v
CHILD SUPPORT REGISTRAR & ANOR
[2011] HCASL 162
S228/2011

The applicant seeks special leave to appeal against orders of a single judge of the Family Court of Australia (Coleman J) dismissing an appeal against orders of the Federal Magistrates Court. The Federal Magistrate (Henderson FM) had dismissed the applicant's appeal against the order of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal that he pay $4,079.46 arrears of child support. The applicant contended that he had made other financial contributions in respect of his children (by buying them beds) which offset his liability to pay child support and further alleged that his former wife had not complied with orders regarding his contact with his children. (At the time of the Federal Magistrate's decision the children were aged 27 and 23 years.)
Whether the applicant's application to this Court was made within time need not be considered. There is no reason to doubt the correctness of the decisions by both the Federal Magistrate and Coleman J that the applicant demonstrated no error in the Tribunal's decision. An appeal to this Court would enjoy no prospect of success.
Pursuant to r 41.10.5 we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application.

K.M. Hayne
6 October 2011 S.M. Crennan

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, Mr Warren, sought special leave to appeal against orders made by a single judge of the Family Court of Australia, Coleman J. The orders dismissed an appeal against decisions of the Federal Magistrates Court and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, which required Mr Warren to pay child support arrears of $4,079.46. Mr Warren argued that his financial contributions, such as buying beds for his children, offset his child support liability and that his former wife did not comply with orders regarding his contact with the children. Notably, at the time of the Federal Magistrate's decision, the children were aged 27 and 23 years.

The legal issues before the court were whether the applicant's application was made within the prescribed time and whether there was any error in the decisions of the Federal Magistrate and Coleman J. The court found no reason to doubt the correctness of the decisions, which held that the applicant demonstrated no error in the Tribunal's decision. Consequently, the appeal to the High Court was deemed to have no prospect of success.

The court held that the applicant's contentions did not establish any ground for special leave to appeal. The decisions of the lower courts were affirmed, and the appeal was dismissed. The reasoning was based on the lack of any demonstrated error in the decisions of the Federal Magistrate and Coleman J.

The final orders directed the Registrar to draw up, sign, and seal an order dismissing the application. The dismissal was made pursuant to rule 41.10.5, reflecting the court's decision that the appeal had no prospect of success.

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