Zall and Scarvo (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia regarding child support payments. The parties, Zall and Scarvo, were in dispute over whether certain payments made by Zall to a third party should be credited against Zall's child support liability.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether payments made by Zall to a third party, specifically for the benefit of the child, constituted "prescribed payments" under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) that could be credited against Zall's child support assessment. The Court also considered whether, even if they were prescribed payments, there were circumstances that warranted the Registrar exercising discretion not to credit these payments.

The Court affirmed the Registrar's decision, finding that there was no intention for the payments made by Zall to the third party to be in lieu of child support. The payments were not made directly to Scarvo, nor was there an agreement that they would discharge Zall's child support obligations. Consequently, the payments were not considered "prescribed payments" for the purposes of crediting against the child support assessment. The Court also noted that even if they were, the Registrar had the discretion not to credit them in these circumstances.

The decision under review was affirmed.