Farleigh and Wills and Ors

This matter came before Cronin J concerning an application by the wife. The proceedings involved the wife, the husband, and the potential intervention of Mr and Mrs Wills Senior. The core of the dispute revolved around the wife's application filed on 23 August 2010, to which the newly joined parties, Mr and Mrs Wills Senior, were required to respond.

The court was required to determine the procedural steps necessary to bring the matter to a final hearing. This included setting deadlines for the filing and service of amended applications and responses, affidavits of evidence in chief, and financial statements compliant with the Family Law Rules. Furthermore, the court needed to address the management of the case, the preparation of a family report, and the separate representation of the child, T. The court also had to consider the consequences of non-compliance with its orders and the requirements for practitioners to file specific documents prior to the hearing.

Cronin J made a series of orders to manage the progression of the case. These orders stipulated specific dates for the parties to file and serve various documents, including amended pleadings, evidence, and financial statements. The court granted Mr and Mrs Wills Senior leave to intervene and become parties, requiring them to file a response to the wife's application by 13 January 2011. Registrar Field was appointed to manage the case, with parties having liberty to approach the Registrar to vary obligations. Crucially, the court ordered that the child T be separately represented pursuant to section 68L(2) of the *Family Law Act 1975*, requesting Victoria Legal Aid to arrange this representation. The orders also detailed the process for dealing with non-compliance, including the possibility of the case being removed from the list or a party being permitted to proceed on an undefended basis. Finally, the court mandated the filing of concise orders, updated financial statements, lists of affidavits to be read, and summaries of argument by 20 April 2011, and required each party to provide a statement of costs incurred and expected.