P v Child Support Registrar

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

P v Child Support Registrar [2013] FCA 1089

Citation:

P v Child Support Registrar  [2013] FCA 1089

Parties:

P v CHILD SUPPORT REGISTRAR and M

File number:

NSD 1254 of 2013

Judge:

WIGNEY J

Date of judgment:

16 October 2013

Catchwords:

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – appeal from Administrative Appeals Tribunal – application to have appeal heard by Full Court

COSTS – litigant in person – whether costs should follow the event

Legislation:

Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975(Cth)
Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cth)
Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)
Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth)

Date of hearing:

16 October 2013

Place:

Sydney

Division:

GENERAL DIVISION

Category:

Catchwords

Number of paragraphs:

38

Counsel for the Applicant:

The applicant appeared in person

Counsel for the First Respondent:

Mr N Gouliaditas

Solicitor for the First Respondent:

Australian Government Solicitor

Counsel for the Second Respondent:

The second respondent filed a submitting notice save as to costs

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY
GENERAL DIVISION	NSD 1254 of 2013

BETWEEN:

P
Applicant

AND:

CHILD SUPPORT REGISTRAR
First Respondent

M
Second Respondent

JUDGE:	WIGNEY J
DATE OF ORDER:	16 OCTOBER 2013
WHERE MADE:	SYDNEY

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1.The interlocutory application be dismissed.

2.The applicant pay the first respondent’s costs of the interlocutory application.

Note:Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY
GENERAL DIVISION	NSD 1254 of 2013

BETWEEN:

P
Applicant

AND:

CHILD SUPPORT REGISTRAR
First Respondent

M
Second Respondent

JUDGE:	WIGNEY J
DATE:	16 OCTOBER 2013
PLACE:	SYDNEY

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. In this matter, the applicant, who I will refer to in this judgment as Mr P, appeals from a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Tribunal) given on 25 June 2013 at Sydney.  The proceedings in the Tribunal that are the subject of this appeal concerned a review of a decision of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal.  That decision was itself a review of a decision of the first respondent, the Child Support Registrar, under the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cth) (the Act).    

2. It is unnecessary, for the purposes of this application, to go into the factual background or the precise nature of the decision that was the subject of review by the Tribunal.  There is, however, one aspect of the procedural history that is relevant to this application.  The decision of the Tribunal that is the subject matter of this appeal followed the remittal of the matter to the Tribunal as a result of an earlier successful appeal to this Court by Mr P.  That earlier appeal was heard by Buchanan J who handed down his judgment on 29 November 2012: P v Child Support Registrar [2012] FCA 1398. The ratio of the decision by Buchanan J was that the Tribunal had erred in law by failing to comply with section 54A(3) of the Act because it…