Wong and Wong (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Child Support Appeals Tribunal regarding a departure determination. The appellant, Mr. Wong, sought to depart from the child support assessment made under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) in relation to his child with Ms. Wong. The primary dispute revolved around whether Mr. Wong had established grounds for a departure from the assessment.

The Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether any of the grounds for departure specified in section 117 of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* were established. Specifically, the Tribunal considered whether there were necessary commitments for Mr. Wong's self-support, payments made to the child, or whether Mr. Wong's income, property, and financial resources warranted a departure from the assessment.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the evidence presented by Mr. Wong. It found that Mr. Wong had not discharged the onus of proving that his commitments were necessary for his self-support, nor had he demonstrated that payments made to the child or his financial resources met the threshold for a departure determination under the Act. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that no ground for departure had been established.

The decision under review, which refused to depart from the child support assessment, was affirmed by the Tribunal.