Duke and Randall (No 2)

In *Duke and Randall (No 2)*, Foster J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered the financial contributions of the mother and father towards the costs of the Independent Children’s Lawyer. The dispute concerned the apportionment of these costs between the parties.

The central legal issue before the court was how to fairly distribute the outstanding costs of the Independent Children’s Lawyer between the mother and the father, subject to a condition regarding Legal Aid New South Wales.

Foster J ordered that, provided either or both parties successfully obtain a waiver of contribution towards the Independent Children’s Lawyer’s costs from Legal Aid New South Wales within one month, then within two months, both the mother and the father are to pay the sum of $13,842.56 to Legal Aid New South Wales.