Rivers and Rivers (No 2)

In *Rivers and Rivers (No 2)*, Hogan J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the Applicant for costs following earlier proceedings concerning contravention and an application in a case. The Respondent sought to recover their costs associated with these applications.

The central legal issue before the court was the determination of the appropriate costs order to be made in favour of the Respondent, specifically whether these costs should be paid on a party/party basis and the timeframe for such payment.

Hogan J ordered that the Applicant pay the Respondent’s costs of and incidental to the Application – Contravention filed on 4 January 2017 and the Application in a Case filed on the same date. These costs were to be paid on a party/party basis, either as agreed between the parties or, failing agreement, as assessed by the court. The Applicant was directed to pay the agreed or assessed costs to the Respondent by 4:00 pm on 1 August 2017.