Bagheri and Goudarzi

In the matter of *Bagheri and Goudarzi*, heard before Loughnan J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, the proceedings concerned parenting orders relating to two children, D and E. The dispute involved ongoing issues regarding the children's welfare and arrangements, with the court noting the continuation of previous orders made on 23 April 2014.

The primary legal issues before the court were the need for independent representation for the children, D and E, and the process for amending existing final parenting orders. The court was required to determine how best to ensure the children's interests were adequately represented in the proceedings and to establish a clear pathway for any proposed changes to the final parenting arrangements.

Loughnan J ordered that the children be represented and requested Legal Aid NSW to arrange this representation promptly. The court also directed both parents to provide all relevant documents to Legal Aid NSW and to facilitate the children's attendance with their representative. Furthermore, the mother was given 28 days to file an Initiating Application if she intended to seek amendments to the final parenting orders, with a subsequent 21-day period for any response. The proceedings were adjourned to 18 February 2016.