Quade and Mabee (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the father, Mr Quade, against a decision of the Child Support Registrar concerning the assessment of child support payable to the mother, Ms Mabee. 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 Judicial Registrar Longo.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether payments received by the father from his employer, described as "retention bonuses" and "redundancy payments," constituted "income" for the purposes of the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989* (Cth). The court was required to determine if these payments were properly included in the father's child support assessment or if they fell within any exceptions or exclusions provided by the Act.

Judicial Registrar Longo reasoned that the definition of "income" in the *Child Support (Assessment) Act* is broad and intended to capture all forms of financial resources available to a parent. The retention bonuses were found to be payments made in consideration of continued employment and therefore directly related to the father's earning capacity. The redundancy payments, while relating to the termination of employment, were also considered to be a form of income derived from the employment relationship. The Registrar applied the principles that payments received in lieu of wages or as a consequence of employment are generally assessable, and that the Act's purpose is to ensure child support is calculated on a realistic assessment of a parent's financial capacity.

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