Spellar and Spellar

In the matter of *Spellar and Spellar*, Justice Wilson of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered an application concerning family therapy for a child, X. The dispute centred on the arrangements for X to attend therapy and the associated costs and procedural steps.

The court was required to determine the specific terms of an order for reportable family therapy, including who would bear the expense, the role of the therapist in directing the frequency and duration of sessions, and the necessary steps for providing instructions and relevant documentation to the therapist. The court also needed to establish a framework for ongoing case management of the proceedings.

Justice Wilson ordered that both parents attend, and cause X to attend, reportable family therapy with Dr F at the father's expense, with the frequency and duration to be determined by Dr F. To facilitate this, the parties were directed to provide a joint letter of instruction to Dr F within twenty-one days, including copies of relevant court documents and orders, and inviting Dr F to request any further documents or information he deemed necessary, including through subpoena. Dr F was granted leave to inspect documents produced by subpoena. The proceeding was subsequently returned to the Registrar for ongoing case management.