Jeffree and Wallace

In *Jeffree & Wallace* [2012] FamCA 704, the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the Father (Mr Jeffree) for urgent interim orders concerning his child, J. The Father sought these orders on an ex parte basis, as he was unable to locate the Mother (Ms Wallace) to serve her with the application. The Father's primary concern stemmed from information received suggesting that another child in the Mother's care, H (aged approximately 13), may pose a risk of physical and/or sexual abuse to the subject child, J (aged 10).

The legal issues before the Court included whether to grant the application on an ex parte basis, despite the Mother not being served, and what interim orders were necessary to protect the child's welfare. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the Father had satisfied the requirements under Rule 5.12 of the *Family Law Rules 2004* (Cth) for making orders without notice to the other party. The Court also considered requests for a Commonwealth Information Order to locate the Mother, the appointment of an Independent Children's Lawyer, and the placement of the child on an airports watch list.

Justice Kent, applying Rule 5.12, was satisfied that the material presented, though untested due to the lack of service on the Mother, warranted making certain interim orders in the child's best interests. The Court reasoned that the potential risk of abuse to the child justified proceeding ex parte. Consequently, the Court made orders pursuant to s 67N(2) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) for Centrelink to provide information regarding the location of the child or Mother, and pursuant to s 67P(1)(d) for disclosure of this information to the Father's solicitors and a process server. Further orders included the preparation of a Family Report, an injunction restraining the removal of the child from Australia, the placement of the child's name on the PACE Alert System, and the appointment of an Independent Children's Lawyer pursuant to s 68L(2) of the Act.

The Court adjourned the hearing of the Initiating Application to a date to be fixed, pending the location and service of the Mother. The Father was ordered to notify the Court once service had been effected, to enable the allocation of a new hearing date, which would also take into account the preparation of the Family Report.