Vartanian and Solvej (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by the liable parent, Mr Vartanian, to set aside a departure determination made by the Child Support Registrar. The dispute concerned the assessment of Mr Vartanian's child support liability, specifically whether the Registrar had correctly taken into account certain income, property, and financial resources available to him. The Registrar's determination had increased Mr Vartanian's child support assessment based on benefits derived from his business and real estate properties held by a family trust.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Registrar had erred in its assessment of Mr Vartanian's financial capacity by failing to properly consider the income, property, and financial resources available to him, particularly those derived from his business and assets held within a family trust. The Tribunal was required to determine if the benefits Mr Vartanian derived from these sources were such that the standard assessment of child support would be unjust and inequitable.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the interpretation and application of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1988, particularly provisions relating to the consideration of a liable parent's income, property, and financial resources when making a departure determination. The Tribunal found that the Registrar had not adequately considered the full extent of the benefits Mr Vartanian derived from his business and the family trust. It applied the principle that a departure determination can be made where the standard assessment would be unjust or inequitable due to the liable parent's financial circumstances, including benefits derived from business structures and trust assets.

The Tribunal set aside the original departure determination and substituted its own. It found that the benefits derived by Mr Vartanian from his business and the family trust were substantial and that the standard assessment would indeed be unjust and inequitable. Consequently, the Tribunal made a revised departure determination, increasing Mr Vartanian's child support liability to reflect these findings.