O’Cain and Racey (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the matter of O’Cain and Racey concerning child support payments. The dispute centred on whether payments made by one parent to a third party constituted child support payments in lieu of the statutory obligation. The decision under review was set aside and substituted.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the payments made by the father to the mother’s mother, for the benefit of the child, were intended by both parents to be in satisfaction of the father’s child support obligations. This involved an assessment of the parties' intentions at the time the payments were made.

Member P Jensen reasoned that for a payment to a third party to be considered child support, there must be a clear intention by both parents that the payment is made in lieu of the child support assessment. The Tribunal found that the evidence did not establish a mutual intention that the payments to the grandmother were to discharge the father's child support liability. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the original decision and substituted its own, finding that the payments were not made in satisfaction of the child support assessment.