MACE & MACE (No.2)

In *Mace & Mace (No.2)*, the Family Court of Australia considered an application for costs following interim parenting proceedings. The dispute arose after the court heard arguments on 20 September 2019 and made orders on 15 October 2019. The Respondent sought an order that the Applicant pay her costs of these interim proceedings.

The central legal issue before Judge Morley was whether there were grounds to depart from the usual rule that each party bears their own costs in family law proceedings, particularly where both parties had achieved partial success. The court also considered whether affidavit evidence filed in the proceedings constituted an offer to settle for the purposes of a costs determination.

Judge Morley reasoned that the usual rule regarding costs should apply in the absence of established grounds for departure. The court found that the Respondent had not demonstrated any basis to deviate from this principle, and that the affidavit evidence did not amount to a formal offer to settle that would warrant a costs order in her favour. Consequently, the application by the Respondent for the Applicant to pay her costs was dismissed.

The final orders of the court were that the Respondent's application for costs was dismissed, and that in relation to the interim parenting proceedings and the orders made on 15 October 2019, each party was to bear their own costs.