Hirst and Hirst & Anor

In *Hirst and Hirst & Anor*, the Honourable Justice Hogan of the Family Court of Australia considered an application for costs in family law proceedings. The dispute involved Ms Hirst (the First Respondent) and Ms B Hirst, concerning costs incurred after a specific date.

The central legal issue before the Court was the determination of which party should bear the costs of the proceedings, and on what basis, following a particular point in time. The Court was required to consider the conduct of the parties and the overall circumstances of the litigation to make an appropriate costs order.

Justice Hogan ordered that the First Respondent, Ms Hirst, pay the costs of Ms B Hirst incurred after 23 June 2015. These costs were to be assessed on a standard party/party basis, either by agreement between the parties or by assessment if agreement could not be reached. The payment of these costs was deferred, to be made within 60 days of either the final resolution of the property settlement proceedings between Ms Hirst and Mr Hirst or the making of a final order in those proceedings.