Tatham and Child Support Registrar (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia regarding a decision of the Child Support Registrar. The appellant, Tatham, sought to challenge the Registrar's assessment of the percentage of care for the child, which had been determined to be 60% for the respondent and 40% for the appellant.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Registrar had erred in determining the likely pattern of care for the child from the beginning of the child support assessment period. Specifically, the Court had to consider whether the Registrar had properly applied the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) in assessing the future care arrangements.

The Court affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that the Registrar had correctly considered the evidence available at the time of the assessment and had made a reasonable determination of the likely pattern of care. The Court applied the principles that the assessment should reflect the *likely* future pattern of care, rather than past or hypothetical arrangements, and that the Registrar was entitled to rely on the information presented to them. The Court found no error in the Registrar's application of these principles to the facts of the case.