Primosi & Anor and Director-General, Communities Services Directorate

The parties to this matter were Primosi and another (the applicants) and the Director-General, Communities Services Directorate (the respondent). The dispute concerned proceedings that were before the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Federal Circuit Court had jurisdiction to make certain orders sought by the applicants. This involved a consideration of the court's powers under the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) and the *Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988* (Cth) in relation to Territory law.

Gill J determined that the Federal Circuit Court did not possess the necessary jurisdiction to make the orders sought by the applicants. The court reasoned that the nature of the relief requested fell outside the scope of the *Family Law Act* and instead related to matters that should be determined by the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, which has jurisdiction over Territory law.

Consequently, the court ordered that the Primosi proceedings be transferred to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, with the specific date of transfer to be notified by that court.