Vaccaro and Child Support Registrar (Child support)

This matter concerned an application by Mr Vaccaro to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for an extension of time to seek a review of a decision made by the Child Support Registrar. The Registrar's decision, dated 13 January 2020, disallowed Mr Vaccaro's objection to an earlier decision that refused to credit certain "non-agency payments" against his child support liability. Mr Vaccaro lodged his application for review on 3 March 2020, which was outside the statutory 28-day time limit prescribed by the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* and the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975*.

The primary legal issue before the AAT was whether to grant Mr Vaccaro an extension of time to lodge his application for review. In determining this, the Tribunal was required to consider several factors, including the explanation for the delay, the merits of the substantive application, any prejudice to the other party, and relevant public interest considerations. The Tribunal noted that while there is a prima facie rule against entertaining proceedings commenced outside statutory periods, the overarching concern is to ensure justice is done between the parties.

The Tribunal found that Mr Vaccaro provided a plausible, though not particularly compelling, explanation for the delay, attributing it to difficulties in receiving mail due to two recent address changes. However, the Tribunal determined that Mr Vaccaro's substantive application had no prospects of success. This conclusion was based on the evidence that the other party consistently maintained she never intended or expected rent payments to be in lieu of child support, and there was no evidence to contradict this. The Tribunal also considered the public interest in timely reviews and the certainty provided by statutory time limits.

Given that Mr Vaccaro's substantive application was considered to have no prospects of success, the Tribunal concluded that the interests of justice required the refusal of the extension application. Accordingly, the extension application was refused.