Rosena and Pippen (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the child support assessment dispute between Rosena and Pippen. The core of the disagreement concerned the percentage of care each party provided for their child, specifically whether there had been a change to the established pattern of care that would warrant a reassessment of the child support payments.

The Tribunal was tasked with determining whether the existing child support assessment accurately reflected the current care arrangements. This involved assessing whether the evidence presented demonstrated a significant and ongoing change in the pattern of care since the last assessment, which would justify altering the percentage of care attributed to each parent.

Member Sheck of the AAT reviewed the evidence and found that a change in the pattern of care had indeed occurred. The Tribunal applied the principles governing child support assessments, focusing on the factual circumstances of the child's living arrangements and the practical realities of each parent's involvement. The decision under review was set aside and substituted with a new assessment reflecting the Tribunal's findings on the percentage of care.