Trejo and Walker and Anor (SSAT Appeal)

The applicant, Mr Trejo, applies for leave to appeal out of time from a decision of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT). The Tribunal decided that the applicant's child support liability was to be assessed on the basis of his earning capacity, which it found to be $55,000 a year, and not on the basis of his income. The Tribunal found that the applicant had not demonstrated that his decision not to work was justified on the basis of his health or his caring responsibilities. The Tribunal found the applicant to be an unreliable witness and did not accept that he had not worked since January 2008 because of a shoulder injury. The applicant argues that the Tribunal failed to consider his health and financial circumstances, and to afford him procedural fairness. The court found that the applicant had not given an adequate explanation for the delay in filing his Notice of Appeal, and that he did not have an arguable case. The court therefore refused the applicant's application for leave to appeal out of time against the Tribunal's decision. The appeal is dismissed.