IRVING & IRVING

The parties, Mr. and Mrs. Irving, brought an application before Foster J of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia seeking to set aside consent orders previously made in their property settlement. The grounds for setting aside the orders were alleged miscarriage of justice or impracticability of carrying out the orders, pursuant to section 79A of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The husband also sought summary dismissal of the wife's application to set aside the consent orders.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether there was sufficient evidence to establish either a miscarriage of justice or that the consent orders were impracticable to carry out, and whether the wife's application had any reasonable grounds of success. A further question arose as to whether a judge making consent orders in chambers was required to provide evidence that their determination was just and equitable.

Foster J dismissed the husband's application. The court found that the wife had not adduced sufficient evidence to establish either a miscarriage of justice or that the consent orders were impracticable to carry out. The reasoning applied was that the wife's claims did not meet the threshold required for setting aside consent orders under section 79A of the Act. The court also determined that the wife's application lacked reasonable grounds for success, leading to the dismissal of her application.