Tutton and Tutton (Child support)

The case of *Tutton and Tutton* concerned a dispute between two parents regarding child support payments. The applicant sought to have certain payments made directly to the respondent, which were intended to cover school fees, credited against their child support assessment. The respondent argued that these payments should not be credited as they were not made through the Child Support Agency and did not meet the criteria for a "prescribed payment" under the relevant legislation. The matter came before a Registrar of the Child Support Registrar for review.

The central legal issue before the Registrar was whether the payments made by the applicant for school fees constituted a "prescribed payment" that could be credited against the child support liability. This required an examination of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) and its associated regulations to determine if the specific nature of the payments, made directly to the school rather than through the agency, satisfied the statutory requirements for such a credit. The Registrar also considered the effect of an agreement between the parties to share education costs.

The Registrar reasoned that for a payment to be considered a "prescribed payment" for the purposes of crediting against a child support assessment, it must be made in accordance with the specific provisions of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* and the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989* (Cth). The legislation outlines a strict framework for how payments are to be made and recognised. In this instance, the payments for school fees were made directly by the applicant to the school, and not through the Child Support Agency. Furthermore, the Registrar found that these payments did not fall within the definition of a "prescribed payment" as defined by the relevant regulations, which typically require payments to be made to the agency or in a manner specifically authorised for credit. The existence of an agreement between the parties to share education costs did not override the statutory requirements for crediting payments against a child support assessment.

The Registrar affirmed the decision under review, meaning the payments made directly for school fees were not credited against the applicant's child support assessment.