Tanner & Dalton (SSAT Appeal)

The Tanner & Dalton case involved an appeal against a decision by the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT) concerning child support. The father, who was the appellant, challenged the Tribunal's decision on various grounds, including an alleged failure to adhere to procedural fairness by not bringing a specific table to his attention. This table, known as the Costs of Children Table, is published by the Child Support Agency and is used for assessing child support under the existing formula arrangements. The father argued that the Tribunal should have informed him about this table, which he claimed was a critical issue in determining the child's needs.

The legal issues before the court included whether the Tribunal was required to bring the Costs of Children Table to the father's attention and whether such an omission constituted a failure of procedural fairness. The court considered the principles of procedural fairness, particularly the requirement to bring critical issues or factors to the attention of an applicant, as outlined in Kioa v West. The court also examined the Tribunal's authority to refer to published guidelines, such as the Costs of Children Table, when assessing the proper needs of the child, referencing Eades & Cadell and other relevant authorities.

The court concluded that the Tribunal was not required to inform the father about the Costs of Children Table, as the costs of the children were not in issue in the proceedings. The court found that the Tribunal had properly considered the costs of the children as presented in the mother's financial statement and that there was no failure of procedural fairness in not drawing the father's attention to the table. The court dismissed all grounds of appeal, affirming the Tribunal's decision.

ORDERS:
1. That the Notice of Appeal filed by the father on 5 May 2011 be dismissed.