Poldark and Poldark (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an appeal by the father, Mr Poldark, against a decision of the Registrar of the Child Support Agency concerning the estimated income of the mother, Ms Poldark, for the purposes of a child support assessment. The dispute centred on whether the Registrar had erred in accepting an estimate of the mother's income when she had failed to provide particulars of her income.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the Registrar had acted reasonably and in accordance with the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) in making an estimate of the mother's income. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider whether the Registrar had sufficient grounds to refuse to accept the mother's income particulars and whether the estimate itself was a reasonable one in the circumstances.

The Tribunal affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that the mother had failed to provide the requested particulars of her income. In accordance with the relevant legislative provisions, the Registrar was therefore empowered to make an estimate of her income. The Tribunal was satisfied that the Registrar had taken into account all relevant material available to them and had made a reasonable estimate based on the information at hand. The Tribunal concluded that the Registrar's decision to accept the estimate was not unreasonable and that the appeal should be dismissed.