XLRT and Child Support Registrar (Child support second review)

This matter concerned a second review before Senior Member A Poljak of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) regarding child support percentages of care. The applicant sought to revoke existing care percentage determinations and have new determinations made. The dispute centred on the actual care provided by each parent for the child over an appropriate period.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether existing care percentage determinations should be revoked, and if so, from when such revocations would take effect. Further, the Tribunal had to ascertain the parents' respective percentages of care for the child during an appropriate period, which would constitute the "care period," and from when any new determinations would take effect. The relevant provisions of the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989* (Cth) governing these determinations were considered, particularly sections 49 and 50, with section 50 being identified as the applicable provision given the apparent pattern of care by both parents.

The Tribunal reasoned that the care period is a statutory mechanism for assessing care provided and is not of a fixed duration, though it generally relates to a 12-month period from a change in care. Crucially, the Tribunal noted that it could only make determinations about care provided "during" the care period, meaning it could not apply a care period extending beyond 30 June 2022, as the decision under review governed the period from 1 July 2022 onwards. The applicant's assertions of having the child's primary care since 2008, with no regular schedule for many years and the child's reduced contact with the other party from around 2019, were considered in light of the evidence.

The Tribunal affirmed the previous objection decision, which had noted conflicting views between the parents and found insufficient evidence to establish a change in care around 1 November 2019. Consequently, the existing care percentage determinations remained in effect.