Stuttaford and Stuttaford (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the father, Stuttaford, against a decision of the Child Support Registrar concerning the percentage of care he provided for the parties' child. The dispute centred on whether there had been a change to the likely pattern of care for the child, which would justify a revocation of existing percentage of care determinations and the making of new ones. The appeal was heard by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Registrar had erred in revoking the existing percentage of care determinations and making new ones, and if so, what the correct percentage of care should be. A secondary issue arose regarding the Registrar's decision to refuse to accept the father's application for review out of time, specifically whether there were special circumstances that prevented the application from being lodged within the prescribed period.

The court found that the Registrar had erred in their assessment of the pattern of care. The legal principle applied was that a change in the *likely* pattern of care, rather than a mere temporary fluctuation, must be demonstrated to warrant a revocation and redetermination. The court reviewed the evidence presented regarding the child's living arrangements and concluded that the father had established a change to the likely pattern of care. Furthermore, the court found that special circumstances did exist which prevented the father from lodging his application for review in time, allowing the late application to be accepted.

Consequently, the court set aside the decision under review and substituted it with a new determination of the percentage of care.