Upston and Kresser (Child support)

The matter of *Upston and Kresser (Child support)* concerned an application by the father, Mr Kresser, to review a child support assessment made by the Child Support Registrar. The mother, Ms Upston, sought to have the assessment upheld. The dispute centred on the father's income, specifically whether certain payments he received should be included in his assessable income for child support purposes. The proceedings were heard in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether payments received by the father from his employer, described as "retention bonuses" and "long-service leave entitlements," constituted relevant income for the purposes of the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989* (Cth). The Court was required to determine if these payments fell within the definition of "income" as defined by the Act, or if they were of a capital nature and therefore excluded from assessment.

In reaching its decision, the Court considered the nature of the payments received by the father. It was held that the retention bonuses were paid to incentivize the father to remain with his employer and were directly linked to his employment, thus constituting income. Similarly, the long-service leave entitlements, although accrued over time, were found to be a form of remuneration for services rendered and therefore also assessable income. The Court applied the principle that payments received by an individual in connection with their employment, even if described by different terms, are generally considered income unless they are clearly of a capital nature.

The Court ordered that the child support assessment be varied to include the retention bonuses and long-service leave entitlements in the father's assessable income.