Grant & Aiden (No 2)

In *Grant & Aiden (No 2)*, the applicant father, Mr Grant, sought orders against the respondent mother, Ms Aiden, concerning their child, V. The primary dispute revolved around the father's application for an order prohibiting the mother from instituting further proceedings under the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) without leave.

The central legal issue before Macmillan J was whether to grant the father's application to prohibit the mother from commencing future proceedings under the Act concerning the child V or the father. This involved considering the threshold for making such a prohibitory order and whether the mother's conduct warranted such a restriction.

Macmillan J reasoned that the mother's repeated institution of proceedings, which had been dismissed, demonstrated a pattern of vexatious litigation. Applying the principles governing vexatious proceedings orders under the *Family Law Act*, the court found that the mother's actions were likely to be repeated and were an abuse of process. Consequently, the court made an order prohibiting the mother from instituting proceedings under the Act concerning V or the father without first obtaining leave pursuant to s 102QE of the Act. The father's oral application for a vexatious proceedings order was otherwise dismissed.