Oxbourne and Ewans and Anor

In the matter of *Oxbourne and Ewans and Anor*, Henderson J of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia considered allegations that the respondents had breached specific orders made by Judge Sexton on 7 August 2015. The dispute centred on whether the respondents had, without reasonable excuse, contravened Order 5(c) and Order 6 of those earlier orders on multiple occasions between March 2016 and January 2018.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether the respondents had breached Order 5(c) and Order 6 of the 7 August 2015 orders, and if so, whether they had done so without reasonable excuse. The Court was required to assess the evidence presented to determine if the conduct of the respondents met the threshold for a breach of the court’s orders, and to consider any justifications offered for their actions.

Henderson J found that the respondents were guilty, without reasonable excuse, of breaching Order 5(c) on five specified dates and Order 6 on six specified dates. In determining this, the Court applied the principles of statutory interpretation to the relevant provisions of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) and the terms of Judge Sexton’s orders. The Court considered the evidence in relation to each alleged breach and concluded that the respondents' actions constituted a contravention of the orders. As a penalty, Henderson J ordered that the respondents each enter into a bond under section 70NEB(1)(d) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) to be of good behaviour for a period of 12 months.