Fryer and Fryer (No. 3)

In the Family Court of Australia at Melbourne, the applicant wife sought costs against the respondent husband following her successful substantive application. The husband, a litigant in person, had been wholly unsuccessful in the proceedings.

The court was required to determine whether to make an order for costs against the husband and, if so, the appropriate sum and timeframe for payment. This involved considering the provisions of section 117 of the *Family Law Act 1975*, particularly subsections (2) and (2A), which govern the court's discretion in awarding costs and the factors to be taken into account.

The court reasoned that section 117(2) of the Act permits costs orders where circumstances justify it, and section 117(2A) directs consideration of factors including whether a party has been wholly unsuccessful. The husband's complete lack of success in the enforcement proceedings, as detailed in prior judgments, provided a justifying circumstance. The court assessed the wife's costs at $3,063.40, comprising counsel's fees, drafting and preparation of documents, court time, correspondence, and other incidental expenses. Despite the husband's claim of unemployment, he provided no particulars of his financial circumstances, leading the court to exercise its discretion to award costs.

The court ordered that the husband pay the wife's costs in the sum of $3,063.40, to be paid within 28 days of the date of the order.