NEWPORT & NEWPORT

The father applied to the court seeking to appoint an adversarial expert and to discharge the Independent Children's Lawyer (ICL). The dispute concerned the father's unsupervised time with the children and the conduct of the ICL and a single expert. The applications were heard by McClelland J in the Family Court of Australia.

The court was required to determine whether the single expert had improperly delegated decision-making authority to a therapist regarding the father's unsupervised time with the children, whether the single expert had provided non-responsive answers and exhibited bias, and whether the ICL had caused delays, improperly conveyed the children's views, pursued the single expert's recommendations inappropriately, and exhibited bias.

McClelland J applied principles of bias as articulated in *Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Jia Legeng* and *Ebner v Official Trustee in Bankruptcy*. The court found that while the single expert had expressed a tentative opinion favouring the mother's contention of family violence, this did not demonstrate a lack of openness to persuasion. The expert had recommended unsupervised time with the father, indicating the preliminary opinion had not been applied to the matter in issue without fresh consideration. The court also found no evidence of bias or inappropriate conduct by the ICL.

The father's Application in a Case filed on 14 October 2016 was dismissed.