Saraceni and Cosaves (Child support)

The applicant, Saraceni, sought to extend a child support assessment beyond the 18th birthday of their child, [Child 1]. The respondent, Cosaves, opposed this application. The matter came before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether an application to extend a child support assessment beyond a child's 18th birthday, specifically in circumstances where the child was still undertaking secondary education, constituted a terminating event under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). The Tribunal was required to determine the date of [Child 1]'s last day of secondary school for the purposes of the assessment.

The Tribunal considered the provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* and relevant case law concerning the definition of a terminating event. It was held that the application to extend the assessment was not itself a terminating event. Instead, the Tribunal focused on the factual determination of when [Child 1] completed secondary schooling. The Tribunal found that the date of [Child 1]'s last day of secondary school was [date], and therefore the assessment should continue until that date. The decision under review was varied accordingly.