Oldridge and Emery (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the father, Mr Oldridge, against a decision of the Child Support Registrar concerning the assessment of child support payable to the mother, Ms Emery. The dispute centred on the father's income for child support purposes, specifically whether certain payments received by him should be included in his assessable income.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Child Support Registrar had erred in including payments received by the father from his employer, described as "retention bonuses" and "long-service leave payments," in his assessable income for the purposes of calculating child support. The father contended that these payments were not regular income but rather lump sums received on specific occasions and should therefore be excluded.

The court considered the definition of "income" under the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989* (Cth). It applied the principle that the Act's definition of income is broad and intended to capture all forms of financial resources available to a parent. The court found that the retention bonuses were paid to retain the father's employment and were therefore directly related to his earning capacity. Similarly, the long-service leave payments, while accrued over time, represented a financial benefit received by the father during the assessment period. Consequently, the court held that the Registrar had correctly included these payments in the father's assessable income.

The appeal was dismissed.