Siviter and Siviter (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the father, Mr. Siviter, against a decision of the Registrar of the Child Support Agency. The dispute centred on the Registrar's acceptance of an estimate of the father's income for the purposes of a child support assessment, which the father argued should have been refused. The appeal was heard by Member S Letch of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Registrar had erred in accepting the estimate of the father's income. This required the Tribunal to consider the criteria for accepting an estimate of income under the relevant legislation and whether the evidence before the Registrar supported such an estimate.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* and the *Child Support Assessment Act 1989*. Member Letch found that the Registrar had sufficient grounds to form an estimate of the father's income, particularly in light of the father's failure to provide requested financial information. The Tribunal applied the principle that where a party fails to cooperate in providing necessary information for an assessment, the Registrar is empowered to make an estimate based on available information. The Tribunal concluded that the Registrar's decision to accept the estimate was not unreasonable or contrary to the legislative framework.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the Registrar's decision and substituted its own decision, accepting the estimate of the father's income for the child support assessment.