Panwar and Panwar & Anor (No 2)

In the matter of *Panwar and Panwar & Anor (No 2)*, Justice Wilson of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia considered an application by one of the parties for leave to commence a property settlement proceeding under section 79 of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The application sought to initiate a substantive property adjustment claim, which requires judicial permission in certain circumstances.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the applicant had satisfied the threshold requirements for obtaining leave to commence the property settlement proceedings. This involved an assessment of the applicant's entitlement to bring such a claim, particularly in light of any relevant statutory provisions or established legal principles governing the commencement of these types of proceedings.

Justice Wilson dismissed the applicant's application for leave. The Court ordered that each party bear their own costs in relation to the application for leave to commence the section 79 proceeding. Furthermore, the Court reserved the determination of costs for the applicant's separate application for costs, indicating that this would be decided by the trial judge presiding over the substantive proceedings.