AIDE & AIDE

In the Family Court of Australia, Mr Aide (the applicant father) sought leave out of time to review orders made by Registrars Stoneham and Moser. The dispute concerned the transfer of proceedings from Brisbane to Melbourne and the father's objection to this transfer. Ms Aide (the respondent mother) was the other party.

The court was required to determine whether to grant the father an extension of time to seek a review of the Registrar's orders, specifically the order transferring the proceedings to Melbourne. The father also sought to have the matter dealt with in Brisbane. The central legal issue was whether the discretion to extend time should be exercised in favour of the father to enable justice to be done between the parties.

Justice Macmillan considered the principles for extending time, referencing *Cummings Corporation Pty Ltd v Child Support Registrar* and *Gallo v Dawson*, which emphasise that such discretion is to enable justice and requires proof that strict compliance with the rules would work an injustice. The court found that while the father's receipt of documents was initially unclear, he was aware of the transfer order before the hearing before Registrar Moser. Despite this, he filed his application for an extension of time significantly late. The court was not satisfied that extending the time would serve justice, noting the practical difficulties and costs associated with relocating the proceedings to Brisbane, given the mother and children resided in Melbourne and the proceedings had historically been heard there.

Consequently, the father's application for leave out of time to review the Registrar's orders was dismissed.