SHQY and Child Support Registrar (Child support second review)

This matter concerned a second review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of a decision by the Child Support Registrar. The dispute arose from an application by the mother to review a decision concerning the percentage of care for the child. The mother had departed for New Zealand in October 2011, leaving the child, who was six years old, in the care of the father. The paternal grandmother subsequently invited the father and child to live with her, which they did until mid-2019 when the father moved out, and the child remained with the grandmother. The grandmother had been providing the child's day-to-day care since late 2011, attending to his basic needs and schooling, and consulting the father on significant decisions.

The Tribunal was required to determine the date of effect of any new determination of care percentage, particularly in light of the mother's objection to a previous care percentage decision. The central legal issue was whether section 87AA of the *Child Support (Registration and Collections) Act 1988* (Cth) applied to the mother's objection, and consequently, the date from which any revised care percentage should take effect. This involved considering whether the mother had been properly served with notice of the original care percentage decision.

The Member found that section 87AA(1) of the *Collection Act* did not apply because the objection was not lodged more than 28 days after notice of the care percentage decision was served. The evidence indicated that the mother had not been served with, or given notice of, the care percentage decision. The letter of 15 March 2019 was determined to be a recalculation of child support payable, not the care percentage decision itself. The Tribunal emphasised that the lack of formal service meant the mother was not in a position to know she had a limited time to exercise her review rights, and that decisions regarding care percentages have significant financial consequences.

The Tribunal set aside the Registrar's decision and substituted a new decision. The effect of this substitution was that the mother's objection was allowed, and a new determination of care percentage would be made. The date of effect of this new determination was to be determined in accordance with the relevant provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collections) Act 1988* (Cth), taking into account the circumstances of the case.