Goudarzi and Bagheri (No 2)

In *Goudarzi and Bagheri (No 2)*, Loughnan J considered an application by the mother for leave to introduce new evidence on the first day of a final hearing. The father contended that admitting this material would necessitate an adjournment, causing prejudice to his case as he had not meaningfully seen the children since late 2015. Furthermore, an adjournment would prejudice the children, whose lives had already been disrupted by protracted litigation. The court also noted that commencing the hearing with the proposed new evidence would create administrative complexities and inefficiencies, effectively preventing the hearing from commencing as scheduled.

The court was required to determine whether to grant the mother leave to introduce the new evidence, which would lead to an adjournment of the final hearing, and to consider an application to provide a single expert with certain material. The Independent Children’s Lawyer was also seeking to provide material to a single expert.

Loughnan J reasoned that admitting the new material would inevitably lead to an adjournment of the final hearing. The court granted leave to the Independent Children’s Lawyer to provide material to a single expert, noting no objection in principle to this occurring, with any specific objections to be brought back before the court. The final hearing was adjourned to a date to be fixed. The orders also addressed the provision of documents between the parties, the appointment of a single information technology expert, and the inspection of material by a consultant psychiatrist. Further directions were made regarding subpoenas and the adjournment of proceedings to specific dates.