RAMETTA AND ORS & RAMETTA

In the matter of *Rametta and Ors & Rametta*, Bennett J considered applications by both the husband and wife concerning the release of funds and costs. The husband sought the release of funds to which he was entitled, pending the determination of the wife's application under s 79A of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The wife, in turn, sought a significant sum to fund her s 79A litigation, which was brought 13 years after consent orders were made.

The court was required to determine the relevant considerations for releasing funds to a party pending further proceedings and the appropriate approach to costs applications, particularly when one party sought substantial funding for litigation commenced many years after final orders. The court's power to award costs was confined to s 117 of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), and it had to consider the vast disparity in the financial positions of the parties and whether any costs awarded might be disproportionate to the proceedings themselves.

Bennett J reasoned that the husband was entitled to the release of funds, dissolving an injunction that had previously prevented their disbursement. In relation to costs, the court acknowledged the wife's request for funding but also noted the significant delay in her s 79A application. The court outlined a detailed procedure for any future applications concerning costs, requiring parties to specify the amount sought, provide supporting evidence, and annex a memorandum of costs drawn in accordance with the Scale of Costs in Schedule 3 to the *Family Law Rules 2004*.

The court ordered the disbursement of funds from a controlled monies account in a specific priority, with a substantial portion allocated to legal fees and the remainder to the husband and the wife. The husband's application in a case filed on 1 April 2020 was otherwise dismissed, as was the wife's response to an application in a case filed on 14 April 2020. Liberty was granted to any party wishing to make an application for costs to do so in accordance with the specified procedural requirements.