Maddock and Lowe

In proceedings before Bennett J of the Family Court of Australia, the applicant and respondent were engaged in a dispute concerning matters of jurisdiction. The applicant was not prepared to address the jurisdictional issues on the day of the hearing, despite an expectation that they should have been.

The central legal issue before the court was the determination of jurisdiction in the matter. The court was required to consider whether it possessed the authority to hear and determine the case, particularly in light of the applicant's unpreparedness to argue the point.

Bennett J ordered that the proceedings be transferred to the Brisbane Registry of the Family Court of Australia and referred to the Case Management Judge of that Registry as a matter transferred on the First Day of Hearing. The parties were granted liberty to seek a hearing of the matter as an interim or final hearing with priority, and the matter was otherwise removed from the judge's docket. The judge noted that the applicant had not been in a position to address the issue of jurisdiction.