Staats and Child Support Registrar (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the matter of Staats and the Child Support Registrar. The dispute concerned the percentage of care arrangements for a child, with the applicant seeking to have existing percentage of care determinations revoked and new determinations made. The AAT was asked to review a decision made by the Child Support Registrar.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether there had been a change to the likely pattern of care for the child that would warrant a revocation of existing percentage of care determinations and the making of new ones. This involved assessing the evidence presented regarding the actual care arrangements and projecting future care arrangements.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review. In reaching its conclusion, the Tribunal considered the evidence presented by both parties concerning the care arrangements for the child. It applied the relevant provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) and the *Child Support Assessment Act 1989* (Cth) to determine whether the threshold for a change in the likely pattern of care had been met. The Tribunal found that the evidence did not support a finding that there had been a sufficient change to the likely pattern of care to justify revoking the existing determinations and making new ones.