Eberstaller v Poulos

The dispute in *Eberstaller v Poulos* concerned proceedings commenced in the Supreme Court of New South Wales to enforce a settlement of a matrimonial cause, which had been embodied in consent orders made by the Family Court of Australia. The matter came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether an appeal lay to it from the Supreme Court's decision in these enforcement proceedings. This required the Court to determine the nature of the proceedings in the Supreme Court and, in particular, whether they constituted a "matter arising under" the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) for the purposes of the *Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act 1987* (Cth).

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the Supreme Court's jurisdiction to enforce the Family Court's consent orders was derived from the *Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act 1987* (Cth), which vested federal jurisdiction in state Supreme Courts. Consequently, the proceedings in the Supreme Court were properly characterised as a "matter arising under" the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). Pursuant to section 27(2)(a) of the *Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act 1987* (Cth), appeals from decisions of a Supreme Court in such matters lie only to the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia, not to a state Court of Appeal.

Accordingly, the Court of Appeal held that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal. The appeal was dismissed with costs.