Steele and Galloway (No 4)

This matter came before the Family Court of Australia concerning child-related proceedings between Ms Steele (the applicant mother) and Mr Galloway (the respondent father). The proceedings involved an application by the mother to amend previous orders regarding Christmas and New Year's access for 2011, and an oral application for Justice Fowler to disqualify himself from hearing further applications due to apprehended bias. The father also made an oral application for an adjournment.

The court was required to determine whether to amend the existing orders pursuant to the slip rule, considering an apparent error in the specified years for Christmas and New Year's access. Additionally, the court had to consider the mother's application for disqualification based on apprehended bias and the father's application for an adjournment to prepare for this application.

Justice Fowler found that there was a clear error in the orders of 8 July 2011, specifically in relation to the years specified for Christmas and New Year's access. Applying the slip rule, the court amended the orders to reflect the intended commencement of access in 2012, aligning with the overall judgment and the staged nature of supervised contact and report production. The court granted leave for the mother to make an oral application for disqualification and for the father to seek an adjournment. The father's adjournment application was granted, and the mother's disqualification application was adjourned to a later date, with directions for formal filing of affidavits and written submissions.