Walton and Cannon (Child support)

The case of *Walton and Cannon* concerned a dispute regarding child support payments, specifically whether certain payments made by the father, Mr Cannon, for school fees should be credited against his child support assessment. The matter came before the court for review of a decision made by the Child Support Registrar.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the payments made by Mr Cannon for school fees constituted "prescribed payments" for the purposes of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) and, if so, whether the Registrar's decision to not credit these payments in the circumstances of the case was correct. The court was required to consider the specific provisions of the Act relating to non-agency payments and the Registrar's discretion in such matters.

The court affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that while the payments for school fees were made by Mr Cannon, they did not meet the criteria for prescribed payments that could be credited against his child support liability. The reasoning focused on the nature of the payments and the scheme of the Act, which generally directs child support payments through the agency. The court applied the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* concerning the crediting of non-agency payments, concluding that the Registrar had acted within their discretion in disallowing the credit for the school fees.