S & M & Ors

The Full Court of the Family Court of Australia heard an appeal concerning property settlement orders made on 5 December 2002. The dispute involved the application of those orders to third party creditors, raising questions about the court's jurisdiction and potential miscarriages of justice.

The primary legal issues before the Full Court were whether the original orders constituted a jurisdictional error, particularly in relation to the rights of third party creditors, and whether there had been a miscarriage of justice under section 79A(1) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) that warranted variation of the existing orders.

The Court allowed the appeal in part, finding that the original orders should be varied. Specifically, paragraph 7 of the order of 5 December 2002 was amended by deleting the words "and the wife each". The Court made no order as to the costs of the appeal.