State Central Authority & Ustinov (No 2)

This matter concerned an application for urgent interlocutory relief by the State Central Authority, acting on behalf of the Republic of Kazakhstan, against the father of two children, A and M. The application sought to stay the operation of orders made by Dawe J on 22 April 2008 and to restrain the father from removing the children from South Australia and/or Australia, and to place their names on the Airport Watch list.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether to grant an interlocutory injunction to prevent the potential international abduction of the children pending the determination of an appeal against the earlier orders of Dawe J. This involved assessing the balance of convenience and the likelihood of irreparable harm to the children and the applicant's ability to enforce any future orders.

The court granted the interlocutory relief sought. It reasoned that the potential for the children to be removed from Australia, thereby frustrating the applicant's ability to seek their return under international conventions, constituted a sufficient risk of irreparable harm. The court considered that the balance of convenience favoured the granting of the injunction, as the potential harm to the applicant and the children if the injunction were not granted outweighed any inconvenience to the father.

Accordingly, the court ordered a stay of paragraphs 1 to 7 of the orders of Dawe J made on 22 April 2008. It further granted an injunction restraining the father from removing the children from South Australia or Australia, and directed the Australian Federal Police to place the children's names on the Airport Watch list until further order.