XJGH and Child Support Registrar (Child support second review)

This matter concerned a second review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT2) of a decision made by the AAT1 regarding child support care percentages. The parties involved were XJGH and DBYV, parents of a child named T, and the Child Support Registrar. The dispute centred on the correct determination of the percentages of care each parent had for T, which had been initially assessed by the Registrar as 90% for XJGH and 10% for DBYV, differing from an earlier Family Assistance Office (FAO) decision of 100% care for XJGH.

The AAT2 was required to determine the actual percentages of care XJGH and DBYV had for their child T from 7 June 2016. This involved considering the meaning of "actual care" and the "pattern of care" for the child, and whether the Registrar had correctly applied the relevant legislative provisions, particularly in relation to existing FAO determinations and the impact of subsequent events, including court orders and allegations of domestic violence.

The Tribunal considered evidence from XJGH, which included details of intervention orders against DBYV and Federal Circuit Court orders restricting DBYV's involvement in T's care due to drug habits and aggressive behaviour. The Tribunal noted that the Registrar's initial 90%/10% assessment was an estimate made by XJGH as a compromise, and that subsequent events, including court-mandated restrictions on DBYV's contact, significantly altered the care arrangements. The Tribunal applied section 54K of the Assessment Act, which states that a Family Assistance Office (FAO) determination has effect as if it were a determination made by the Registrar, and considered the objection procedures under the Registration and Collection Act.

Having regard to all the documentary and oral evidence, the Tribunal was satisfied that the appropriate percentages of care for T from 7 June 2016 were 100% for XJGH and 0% for DBYV. Consequently, the decision under review was set aside and substituted with this new determination.