Graft & McCormick

[2021] FCCA 347

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Graft & McCormick [2021] FCCA 347

File number(s):	CSC 301 of 2009
Judgment of:	JUDGE JARRETT
Date of judgment:	1 February 2021
Catchwords:	FAMILY LAW– The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and related legislation – procedure – application to institute proceedings – vexatious proceedings order in place
Number of paragraphs:	13
Date of hearing:	1 February 2021
Place:	Townsville
Applicant:	The Applicant appeared on her own behalf
Respondent:	No appearance

ORDERS

CSC 301 of 2009

BETWEEN:

MS GRAFT

Applicant

AND:

MS MCCORMICK

Respondent

ORDER MADE BY:	JUDGE JARRETT
DATE OF ORDER:	1 FEBRUARY 2021

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1.The Application in a Case filed 23 November 2020 be dismissed and the proceedings are removed from the Active Pending Cases List.

Section 121 of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) makes it an offence, except in very limited circumstances, to publish proceedings that identify persons, associated persons, or witnesses involved in family law proceedings.

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment under the pseudonym Graft & McCormick is approved pursuant to s.121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

JUDGE JARRETT

1. By her application in a case filed on 23 November 2020 the applicant, Ms Graft, seeks an order for leave to file a contravention application.  The present application is necessary because there was a vexatious proceeding order made against the applicant on 3 June 2019.  The application proceeded ex parte.

2. That order was made against the background, a long background, of litigation between the applicant and the respondent concerning their children.  There was a proceeding in the Federal Circuit Court in Cairns. The most recent order concerning the children is an order made by Tree J, in the Family Court of Australia.  That order was made on 26 November 2015.  By that order, the father is to have sole parental responsibility for the children, although there are some obligations cast on him by order 4 to inform the mother about certain things.  

3. The children, by those orders, are to live with the father and they are to spend time with the mother in accordance with the arrangements set out in paragraphs 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of those orders.  There are also some orders for telephone communication and the like.

4. Importantly, however, the time-spending arrangements, which on their face are limited to half of the school holidays and the like, are conditional upon the mother complying with another order set out in a further tranche of orders, order number 11.  That order requires the applicant to complete a Focus on Kids course with X Counsellors and file a certificate of completion with the Court.  Now, ordinarily that would not cause much problem, because it is often the case that the Court will make an order for parents, and my own practice is for both parents, to do a course or something similar to that because none of us know everything.  All of us stand to be improved by…