Ultan and Elwes (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the matter of Ultan and Elwes concerning a dispute over the percentage of care for a child. The applicant, Ultan, sought to have the percentage of care attributed to Elwes reduced, thereby increasing his own percentage of care and consequently his child support obligations.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether there had been a change to the likely pattern of care of the child that would warrant a reassessment of the existing child support assessment. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the circumstances presented by Ultan constituted a material alteration to the established care arrangements, or if any observed changes were temporary or did not meet the threshold for a formal reassessment.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that there was no change to the likely pattern of care that would justify altering the existing child support assessment. The reasoning applied was that any observed shifts in care were not of a nature or duration to constitute a "change in the likely pattern of care" as contemplated by the relevant legislation. The Tribunal noted that a later, more significant change in care, if it occurred, would be the subject of a new decision and not relevant to the current review of the past period.