McDonald and Holmes

In the Family Court of Australia, Mr McDonald (the applicant) and Ms Holmes (the respondent) sought consent orders for property adjustment. The core of their application concerned the expiry of the statutory time limit for making such orders, necessitating an application for an extension of time.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether to grant the parties leave to extend the time for making consent orders, pursuant to section 44(6) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). This section governs the time limits for instituting proceedings for property adjustment orders.

Justice Benjamin reasoned that requiring the parties to commence fresh proceedings for leave would impose undue financial hardship given their current circumstances. The parties had jointly assured the court that the proposed consent orders were appropriate, save for the expired time limit. Consequently, the court granted leave under section 44(6) of the Act, permitting the parties to proceed with their application for consent orders.