Lofts and Lofts (No 2)

The mother sought a stay of final parenting orders made on 4 December 2015, pending her appeal against those orders. The father opposed the application. The proceedings were heard by Hogan J in the Family Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the mother had established sufficient grounds to warrant a stay of the final parenting orders. This required the court to consider the principles governing applications for stays pending appeal in family law matters.

Hogan J dismissed the mother's application for a stay. The court applied the principles established in *S v S* [1987] HCA 10, which require an applicant for a stay pending appeal to demonstrate that there are substantial arguable grounds for the appeal and that the balance of convenience favours granting the stay. In this instance, the court found that the mother had not satisfied these criteria.

Consequently, the mother's application for a stay was dismissed. The father's response to the application was also dismissed, and each party was ordered to bear their own costs of the proceedings.