Pearce and Lacey (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the father, Mr Pearce, against a decision of the Child Support Registrar regarding the assessment of child support payable to the mother, Ms Lacey. 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 appeal was heard by Magistrate S Letch.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether payments received by the father from his employer, described as "retention bonuses" and "long-service leave entitlements," constituted relevant income for the purposes of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1984* (Cth) and the *Child Support Assessment Act 1989* (Cth). The court was required to determine the nature of these payments and whether they fell within the definition of "income" as defined by the relevant legislation for child support assessment.

Magistrate Letch reasoned that the retention bonuses were paid to the father to ensure his continued employment and were directly linked to his employment. Therefore, they were properly characterised as income derived from his employment. Similarly, the long-service leave entitlements, although accrued over time, were payments made in lieu of leave and were also considered income derived from his employment. The court applied the principles that payments received by an employee in connection with their employment are generally considered income for child support purposes, unless specifically excluded by the legislation.

The appeal was dismissed, and the Child Support Registrar's assessment was affirmed.