Pankey and Mulgrew (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by Pankey against a decision of the Child Support Registrar concerning the particulars of an administrative assessment of child support. The dispute centred on the Registrar's estimate of Pankey's income for the purposes of the assessment.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Registrar had correctly reconciled Pankey's estimated income with the available information, and whether the resulting administrative assessment was therefore valid.

The court affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that the Registrar had properly exercised their discretion in estimating Pankey's income. The court was satisfied that the estimate was a reasonable one, having regard to the information available to the Registrar at the time of the assessment. The court applied the principles governing administrative assessments under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988*, emphasizing the Registrar's broad powers to estimate income where actual income is not readily ascertainable.