Price and Price (Child support)

The case of *Price and Price (Child Support)* concerned an application by the applicant parent for the collection of unpaid child support amounts, referred to as "opt-in arrears". The respondent parent had previously been assessed for child support, and the applicant sought to recover amounts that had accrued but were not paid. The matter came before the court for review of a decision concerning the acceptance of the application for collection.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the applicant's application for the collection of unpaid child support amounts should have been accepted. This involved determining whether there were indeed unpaid amounts that could be subject to collection under the relevant legislation. The court was required to consider the criteria for accepting such an application and the circumstances under which arrears could be formally pursued for collection.

In reaching its decision, the court considered the provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* relating to the collection of child support. The court found that the applicant had demonstrated that there were unpaid amounts of child support. Consequently, the court determined that the decision under review, which had apparently rejected or failed to accept the application for collection, was incorrect. The court applied the principle that where unpaid child support arrears exist, an application for their collection should generally be accepted, subject to the legislative framework.

The court set aside the previous decision and substituted it with an order accepting the applicant's application for the collection of the unpaid child support amounts.