Bradbury and Lander (No 2)

In *Bradbury and Lander (No 2)*, Gill J of the Family Court of Australia considered the appropriate orders to be made following findings of contravention of previous Family Court orders by Ms Lander. The dispute concerned multiple instances where Ms Lander had failed to comply with the Court's directions.

The central legal issue before the Court was the nature and form of the penalty or consequence to be imposed upon Ms Lander for her repeated contraventions of the Family Court's orders. The Court was required to determine how to address these breaches in a manner that would ensure future compliance.

Gill J reasoned that a punitive bond, rather than immediate imprisonment or a significant fine, was the appropriate course of action. The Court ordered Ms Lander to enter into a bond for each of the four contraventions, acknowledging a debt of $1,000 to the Commonwealth for each, to be levied upon her property if she failed to comply with the orders of the Family Court for a period of 12 months from the entry into the bond. The Court directed that these bonds were to be entered into forthwith at the Canberra Registry of the Family Court of Australia.