Sherburn and Sherburn (Child support)

This matter concerned an application for review of an administrative assessment of child support made by the Registrar of the Child Support Agency. The applicant, Mr. Sherburn, sought to have his child support liability reduced on the basis of overseas income. The respondent, Ms. Sherburn, opposed this application. The review was heard by Senior Member R Ellis of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Mr. Sherburn's overseas income could be determined for the purposes of calculating his child support liability under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider whether the information provided by Mr. Sherburn was sufficient to establish a new assessment of his income, taking into account his overseas earnings.

Senior Member Ellis affirmed the decision of the Registrar. The Tribunal found that Mr. Sherburn had failed to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that his overseas income was of a nature or amount that would justify a departure from the existing assessment. The principles applied centred on the evidentiary burden placed upon a party seeking to vary an administrative assessment, requiring clear and cogent proof of the relevant financial circumstances. Without such proof, the existing assessment, which did not account for the claimed overseas income, was upheld.