ELDRIDGE & ELDRIDGE (No.3)

In the matter of *Eldridge & Eldridge (No.3)*, Judge Boyle of the Family Court of Australia considered an application for costs following earlier proceedings. The dispute involved applications for costs made by both the mother and the father, as well as the Independent Children’s Lawyer (ICL).

The court was required to determine several discrete issues concerning the allocation of costs. These included whether the mother should be awarded her costs of the costs application, whether the father should be awarded his costs of the costs application, and crucially, how the costs of the Independent Children’s Lawyer should be borne by the parties.

Judge Boyle dismissed the mother's application for costs and her application for costs of the costs application. Similarly, the father's application for his costs of the costs application was also dismissed. The court ordered that the father was to pay one half of the Independent Children’s Lawyer’s costs, amounting to $7,599, to be paid within eight months as directed by the Legal Aid Commission of New South Wales. The Independent Children’s Lawyer’s application for their costs against the mother was dismissed.