Wells and Miller (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Child Support Registrar (the Registrar) regarding a child support departure determination. The applicants, Wells and Miller, sought to depart from the administrative assessment of child support payable by the liable parent. The core of their dispute centred on whether the income, property, and financial resources of the liable parent rendered the administrative assessment unjust and inequitable.

The Registrar was required to determine whether the circumstances of the case met the criteria for a departure from the standard child support assessment. Specifically, the Registrar had to consider if the liable parent's financial position, including their business income, was such that the existing assessment was unfair and inequitable to the child or the other parent.

In reaching a decision, the Registrar considered the evidence presented regarding the liable parent's income and financial resources. The Registrar found that while the liable parent derived income from a business, this income was properly reflected in the administrative assessment. There was no evidence to suggest that the liable parent had deliberately reduced their income or was concealing financial resources. Consequently, the Registrar concluded that the liable parent's income and financial resources did not make the administrative assessment unjust or inequitable, and therefore, no grounds for departure were established.

The Registrar affirmed the original decision, finding no basis to depart from the administrative assessment of child support.