Reabald and Checett (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered a dispute between Reabald and Checett concerning child support payments. The core of the disagreement related to the collection of arrears by the Child Support Registrar, particularly where payments had been made privately and in advance by one party, only for the collection method to subsequently change to direct collection by Child Support.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the Child Support Registrar had erred in calculating the arrears owed, specifically in circumstances where payments made by Reabald to Checett, which were intended to cover future child support obligations, were retrospectively applied by the Registrar to satisfy an arrears period. The central legal issue was the proper application of payments made privately and in advance when the Child Support Registrar subsequently took over the collection of child support, including arrears.

Member P Jensen found that the Registrar's approach to calculating the arrears was not sufficiently explained and potentially failed to account for the advance payments made by Reabald. The Tribunal applied the principles of child support legislation, which require payments to be credited appropriately, and noted that the Registrar's decision did not demonstrate a clear understanding of how the advance payments should have been treated in light of the subsequent change in collection arrangements. The Tribunal concluded that the decision under review was affected by error.

The Tribunal set aside the decision of the Child Support Registrar and remitted the matter back to the Registrar with a direction to reconsider the calculation of arrears, ensuring that any payments made by Reabald in advance were properly credited and accounted for in the arrears period.