SARAH & LOUISE

[2014] FamCA 679

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

SARAH & LOUISE [2014] FamCA 679

FAMILY LAW – PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Transfer to the Federal Circuit Court pursuant to s 33B of the Family Law Act 1975

Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)

APPLICANT: Ms Sarah

RESPONDENT: Mr Louise

FILE NUMBER: PAC 3996 of 2012

DATE DELIVERED: 20 August 2014

PLACE DELIVERED: Brisbane

PLACE HEARD: Brisbane

JUDGMENT OF: Kent J

HEARING DATE: 20 August 2014

REPRESENTATION

FOR THE APPLICANT:	In person
SOLICITOR FOR THE RESPONDENT:	Ms Sambanis, Sambanis Family Law

Orders

It is ordered that:

1. Pursuant to section 33B of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) the proceedings are transferred to the Federal Circuit Court to be listed on a date fixed by that Court.

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment by this Court under the pseudonym Sarah & Louise has been approved by the Chief Justice pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT BRISBANE

FILE NUMBER: PAC 3966 of 2012

Ms Sarah

Applicant

And

Mr Louise

Respondent

EX TEMPORE REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. This matter has come before Judge Coates in the Federal Circuit Court on a couple of occasions recently and, most recently, on 7 August 2014.  His Honour then made orders for the appointment of an Independent Children’s Lawyer for the child the subject of the proceedings.

2. His Honour also made orders for the filing and service of written submissions with respect, it seems, to a matter of costs under a timetable of data to the end of this month.  Otherwise, his Honour made an order transferring the proceedings to this Court, although the file does not reflect that his Honour gave any reasons for the order for transfer.  I am informed by the parties that neither of them sought that the matter be transferred to this Court, and neither could shed light on the reason for the order being made.

3. The substantive applications seem to be applications for contravention of previous final parenting orders which were orders that were made in the Federal Circuit Court at Parramatta.  In circumstances where the subject application is to deal with alleged contraventions of final orders made in the Federal Circuit Court, unless there is some special or curious feature about the case, that application should be heard and determined in the Federal Circuit Court.  Nothing has been identified to me in the hearing this morning as to the existence of any special circumstance or reason for the applications having to be dealt with by this Court as opposed to the Federal Circuit Court.  Indeed, both parties contended for the proceedings being in the Federal Circuit Court.

4. Moreover, in circumstances where, as already noted, his Honour made orders in relation to the further filing of submissions with his apparent intention to deal with an application for costs in response to those submissions, it is appropriate that the proceedings are in the Federal Circuit Court. 

5. For these reasons I make the order set out at the commencement of these Reasons.

I certify that the preceding five (5) paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for judgment of the Honourable Justice Kent delivered on 20 August 2014.

Associate: 

Date:  20 August 2014