Nepean & Treloar

In the matter of *Nepean & Treloar*, Justice Fowler of the Family Court of Australia considered an application concerning parenting arrangements for the child, X. The dispute involved the appointment of an expert to prepare a report on these arrangements.

The court was required to determine whether to discharge an existing order appointing a single expert and, if so, to establish a new process for the appointment of an expert to report on the parenting arrangements for the child. The court also had to consider the timing of such an appointment in light of the scheduled final hearing.

Justice Fowler reasoned that the previous appointment of Associate Professor Carolyn Quadrio as a single expert was no longer appropriate and ordered its discharge. The court then directed the mother to provide the father with three names of qualified Child and Family Psychiatrists who could prepare a report on the parenting arrangements in a timely manner. The father was to select one of these proposed experts, and both parties were ordered to cooperate in instructing the chosen expert and facilitating the assessment of the child. The costs of this new report were to be borne equally by the parties, with the costs of the current application reserved for the final hearing. The court also noted the tentative listing of the matter for a five-day final hearing commencing on 13 December 2010.