IKAGA & IKAGA

In the matter of IKAGA & IKAGA, Hogan J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application concerning the grant of an Australian visa to a child, B. The dispute involved the consent of the Respondent father to the visa application, which was a necessary step for its processing.

The court was required to determine whether to grant leave for the Respondent's legal representatives to withdraw, the procedure for the Applicant to obtain the Respondent's consent to the visa, and the consequences of the Respondent's failure to provide that consent. The court also addressed the issue of costs associated with the application.

Hogan J ordered that the Respondent's legal representatives be granted leave to withdraw. The Applicant was directed to provide the Respondent with a completed Department of Immigration and Citizenship Form 1229 within seven days, and the Respondent was ordered to execute this form, signifying his consent to the visa grant, and return it to the Applicant's solicitor within fourteen days. Crucially, the court stipulated that if the Respondent failed to return the signed form within the specified timeframe, a Registrar of the Family Court was empowered, upon the Applicant filing an appropriate affidavit, to execute the document on behalf of the Respondent pursuant to section 106A of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). This Registrar's execution would carry the same legal force as if the Respondent himself had signed it. The Respondent was also ordered to pay the Applicant's costs of and incidental to the application.