Osterton and Sunderland (No. 2)

In the matter of Osterton and Sunderland (No. 2), Brown J of the Family Court of Australia considered applications relating to the conduct of proceedings between the applicant and the respondent concerning their children. The proceedings involved the filing and service of affidavits, the admissibility of evidence, and the attendance of witnesses at trial.

The court was required to determine several procedural and evidentiary issues. These included the proper filing of affidavits, the service of documents, the dismissal or granting of applications to subpoena witnesses, and the reservation of questions regarding the admissibility of evidence to the trial judge. The court also considered whether the matter reasonably required the attendance of solicitors as counsel.

Brown J made a series of orders addressing these issues. The court ordered the removal of one affidavit and the retrospective filing of others, along with directions for service of documents. An application to subpoena a witness was dismissed, while the Independent Children’s Lawyer was granted leave to subpoena Victoria Police. Crucially, the court reserved questions of evidence admissibility to the trial judge and noted that all extant applications remained listed for trial on 9 July 2009.