Eastley & Eastley (No. 4)

In the matter of *Eastley & Eastley (No. 4)*, the applicant, Mr Eastley, and the respondent, Ms Eastley, were before Gill J of the Family Court of Australia. The dispute concerned the admissibility of an expert report prepared by Dr K. The Independent Children's Lawyer was also a party to the proceedings.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the opinion evidence contained in Dr K's report was admissible, notwithstanding the provisions of the *Evidence Act 1995* (Cth). Specifically, the court had to determine if the opinion rule, as contained in the Act, applied to the admission of such evidence in family law proceedings, or if admission was governed solely by the principle of relevance.

Gill J determined that while the opinion rule in the *Evidence Act 1995* (Cth) might not strictly apply in the same manner as in other jurisdictions, the admission of expert opinion evidence in family law proceedings was still contingent upon the opinion being the product of expertise applied in a way that mirrored the requirements of the opinion rule. The court found that the report of Dr K, dated 24 March 2021, met this threshold.

Consequently, the court ordered that the report of Dr K dated 24 March 2021 is admissible.