Ricciuti and Steitz (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the dispute between Ricciuti and Steitz concerning the particulars of an administrative assessment of child support. The core of the disagreement related to the determination of adjusted taxable income for the purposes of the assessment.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant's adjusted taxable income had been correctly calculated by the Child Support Registrar. Specifically, the issue was whether certain payments received by the applicant should be included in their adjusted taxable income for the relevant child support period.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that the Registrar had correctly applied the relevant provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). The Tribunal reasoned that the payments in question fell within the definition of income to be included in the adjusted taxable income calculation as per the Act. The applicant's arguments for excluding these amounts were not accepted, as they did not meet the statutory criteria for exclusion.