Parsi & Zomorod

In the matter of Parsi & Zomorod, heard before Henderson J in the Family Court of Australia, the applicant de facto wife sought interim orders against the respondent de facto husband. The dispute concerned property and related financial matters arising from the de facto relationship. The applicant requested that existing injunctive orders, initially made in March 2021, continue pending further order, and that the respondent provide further and ongoing disclosure. Additionally, the applicant sought an interim dollar for dollar costs order and an order restraining the respondent from leaving the Commonwealth of Australia.

The court was required to determine whether to continue the interim injunctive orders and compel further disclosure from the respondent. It also had to consider the applicant's requests for an interim costs order and a travel restriction on the respondent. The court's determination of these matters was informed by the relative financial positions of the parties and the evidentiary basis for the requested orders.

Henderson J reasoned that the respondent had consented to the continuation of the interim injunctive orders and to provide the specified disclosure, and therefore these orders were made by consent. However, the court found no evidentiary basis to support an order restraining the respondent from leaving Australia, particularly given the dismissal of recent assault charges and the return of his passport. Furthermore, the court noted that the applicant was in a superior financial position to the respondent, and any interim costs order made in her favour could not be reversed, suggesting a lack of justification for such an order at this stage.

Consequently, the court ordered that the interim injunctive orders made on 30 March 2021 continue pending further order, and that the respondent provide the specified documents by way of disclosure within twenty-eight days. The application for an interim dollar for dollar costs order and the application to restrain the respondent from leaving Australia were otherwise dismissed.