Eliot and Maxfield (No 2)

In *Eliot and Maxfield (No 2)*, Forrest J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered an application by the father for contravention of parenting orders. The father did not appear at the hearing of his application, which led to its dismissal.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the father's application should be dismissed for want of prosecution due to his non-attendance. A secondary issue concerned the entitlement of the respondent mother and the Independent Children’s Lawyer to an order for costs against the father.

Forrest J dismissed the father's application for contravention for want of prosecution, noting the father's failure to appear. In relation to costs, the court ordered the father to pay the mother's costs of and incidental to the dismissed application, fixed at $1,695, and the Independent Children’s Lawyer's costs, fixed at $1,215.