Murnan and Mackall (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the applicant, Murnan, against a decision of the Registrar of the Child Support Agency (now Services Australia) to refuse to accept an estimate of income provided by the applicant. The dispute centred on the particulars of an administrative assessment of child support.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Registrar's refusal to accept the applicant's estimate of income was justified. This required the Tribunal to consider the criteria for accepting or refusing an estimate of income under the relevant legislation, specifically in circumstances where the applicant sought to provide an estimate rather than actual income.

The Tribunal affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that the applicant had not provided sufficient information or justification to warrant the acceptance of the estimated income. The legislation requires that estimates be reasonable and supported by evidence, and in this instance, the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant had failed to meet this threshold. The refusal was therefore upheld.