BALLAN & SANDFORD

In the matter of *Ballan & Sandford*, heard by Judge Altobelli of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, the applicant, Ms Sandford, sought to set aside parenting orders that had been made in her absence. The respondent was Mr Ballan.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the parenting orders previously made should be set aside pursuant to rule 16.05 of the *Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001* (Cth). This rule allows for the setting aside of an order where a party has not attended a hearing.

Judge Altobelli dismissed Ms Sandford's application. While the Court acknowledged that Ms Sandford had not attended the hearing at which the parenting orders were made, it found that she had not satisfied the requirements of rule 16.05. The Court determined that Ms Sandford had not demonstrated that she had a meritorious case to argue in relation to the parenting orders, nor had she shown that she had acted with due diligence in seeking to set aside the orders.

Consequently, the Court ordered that the application filed by Ms Sandford on 20 July 2018 be dismissed.