Nayah and Craymer (Child support)

The case of Nayah and Craymer concerned a dispute over child support, specifically a determination of a parent's percentage of care for a child. The matter came before Deputy J Walsh P of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Department of Human Services (the Department) had the jurisdiction to consider an objection to a care percentage decision that related to a period *before* the commencement date of the child support administrative assessment. The mother sought to object to a decision that attributed 100% care to the father for a period preceding the child support assessment.

Deputy J Walsh P reasoned that a "care percentage decision" as defined in subsection 4(1) of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (the Collection Act) must have a sufficient nexus with the particulars of a child support administrative assessment. While care percentages are material variables in such assessments, not all decisions concerning care fall within this definition. The Tribunal noted that the child support assessment in this case commenced on 6 October 2016. The decision under objection, which determined 100% care to the father, related to the period from 6 August 2015 to 4 October 2016, a period entirely before the assessment began. The Tribunal found that the Department lacked jurisdiction to consider an objection to a care percentage decision made for a period prior to the existence of any child support assessment.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision under review and substituted it with a decision that the Department had no jurisdiction to consider the objection.