Giacobetti & Giacobetti (No 3)

In the Family Court of Australia, Ms Giacobetti filed an application for leave to amend her final application in the proceedings against Mr Giacobetti. The application was made on the final day of the hearing, and leave to amend was required pursuant to rule 2.50 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth). Ms Giacobetti sought an adjournment until February 2025 to allow for further investigation into certain financial matters, specifically in relation to B Pty Ltd.

The legal issues before the court were whether the application for leave to amend should be granted and, if so, whether the adjournment should be allowed. The court considered the timeliness of the application, the need for the amendment, and the potential impact on the proceedings. The court also took into account the rule 2.50 which requires leave to be granted in certain circumstances, and whether there were any exceptional circumstances that warranted an adjournment.

Curran J found that the application for leave to amend was made on the final day of the hearing, which was not timely. The court held that there were no exceptional circumstances to warrant an adjournment until February 2025. The court further held that the application for leave to amend the final application to seek orders in respect of B Pty Ltd should be refused. The court reasoned that the application was not made in a timely manner and that the proposed amendment would cause significant delay and inconvenience to the proceedings.

Accordingly, the court refused the oral application to amend the final application and the application filed in court to amend the final application to seek that orders in respect of B Pty Ltd be adjourned. The form of the order is subject to the entry in the Court’s records.