Hurst v Koszewski

Hurst v Koszewski concerns a dispute between the plaintiff and the defendant over the nature of their relationship and the division of property following its end. The case was originally filed in the Supreme Court of South Australia, but the defendant has applied for the proceedings to be transferred to the Family Court of Australia, relying on cross-vesting legislation. The primary issue before the court was whether the Family Court had exclusive jurisdiction to hear the matter, given the disagreement between the parties over the existence of a de facto relationship.

The court examined the provisions of the Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act and the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), as well as the Commonwealth Powers (De Facto Relationships) Act 2009 (SA), to determine whether the Family Court had jurisdiction over the proceedings. The defendant argued that the Family Court had exclusive jurisdiction to address the division of property following the breakdown of their de facto relationship, while the plaintiff contended that the Supreme Court should retain jurisdiction.

The court found that it was premature to transfer the proceedings to the Family Court because there was uncertainty over whether the Family Court had jurisdiction due to the dispute about the existence of a de facto relationship. The court reasoned that it was not in the interests of justice to transfer the proceedings at this stage. Consequently, the court dismissed the defendant’s application to transfer the proceedings to the Family Court.

The court concluded that, as there was no federal matter for which the Family Court could be found to have substantive jurisdiction, it was not more appropriate for these proceedings to be determined by the Family Court rather than by the Supreme Court. The application was dismissed, and the proceedings remained in the Supreme Court of South Australia.