April2021 The Review includes news about the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and summaries of a selection of published decisions. This month we take a look at the impact of COVID-19 on the AAT caseload and how changing family circumstances can impact administrative assessments in child support reviews. Previous issues of The Review are available on our website. The AAT continued to receive thousands of applications for review in 2019-20 and, while remaining above average on the five-year trend line, total lodgements to the AAT fell by 10 per cent in that period. This is mostly attributable to a decrease in applications across all AAT divisions due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The most common types of decisions we review relate to:
We also review decisions relating to:
Expressions of interest for appointment to the AATThe Attorney-General’s Department is currently seeking expressions of interest from people who are interested in appointment as an AAT member. Information on how to apply is available on the Attorney-General's Department website. Expressions of interest for appointment as a Senior Member in a Deputy Division Head role close at 11:55pm AEST on Sunday 16 May 2021. Expressions of interest for all other roles will be accepted on an ongoing basis over a 12-month period or until a new call is advertised. On average, the AAT receives and finalises more than 2000 applications annually for review of a child support decision made by Services Australia. The majority of applications are review decisions relating to parental care percentages and those where there has been a change of assessment. In this issue, we focus on applications that concern the particulars of an administrative assessment as outlined in the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989. The annual rate of child support payable is calculated using several formulas which utilise:
The following decision summaries show how changing family circumstances can affect the administrative assessment. Malghum and Greaves [2021] AATA 468 Does an increase in income and financial resources of one parent necessarily increase the amount of assessed child support to be paid? Tutton and Tutton (Child support) [2021] AATA 464 After considering a change in one parent’s circumstances, the Tribunal made a decision on whether the payments made for school fees should be considered as non-agency payments. Our staff produce decision summaries for a selection of AAT decisions that have been published in full on the AustLII website. We use these summaries to offer an insight into our decision-making processes and to demonstrate the diversity of our work. For the complete facts and reasons, please view the full written decisions on AustLII. View our recent decision summaries below. 1802556 (Refugee) [2020] AATA 4550 Should a protection visa granted 11 years ago be cancelled in the light of new information that suggests the applicant provided incorrect information in his original application form? 181291 (Refugee) [2020] AATA 4584 In this decision, the AAT considers if person meets the criteria for the granting of a protection visa if they are a member of the same family unit as a person whom Australia has protection obligations. Rochford and Repatriation Commission [2020] AATA 4725 Will this RAAF veteran with a history of service related injuries be granted the special rate of payment? The AAT Bulletin is a weekly publication containing information about recently published decisions and appeals against decisions in the AAT’s General, Freedom of Information, National Disability Insurance Scheme, Security, Taxation & Commercial and Veterans’ Appeals Divisions. The Bulletin also regularly includes a sample of decisions recently published in the AAT’s Migration & Refugee Division and Social Services & Child Support Division. What do you think? Write to us at Communications@aat.gov.au to provide editorial suggestions and feedback. |