Strahan & Strahan (No. 4)

In *Strahan & Strahan (No. 4)*, Strickland J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application concerning the independent representation of a child, S. The dispute involved the appointment of an Independent Children's Lawyer (ICL) and the potential reappointment or exclusion of a previously appointed ICL. The husband had also sought costs against the wife.

The court was required to determine whether an ICL should be appointed for the child S, and if so, whether a specific individual, Ms Anne Bills, should be excluded from consideration for that appointment. Additionally, the court had to consider whether principles of *res judicata* or issue estoppel applied to a previous application to remove an ICL, and whether the circumstances justified an order for costs in favour of the husband.

Strickland J affirmed the court's power to specifically appoint or exclude a person from being appointed as an ICL in appropriate circumstances. The judge found that the child S required independent representation and ordered the Legal Services Commission of South Australia to arrange such representation. The court dismissed the husband's application for the specific appointment of Ms Anne Bills as ICL, and also dismissed applications by both parties relating to the child S, removing them from the active pending cases list. The wife was ordered to pay the husband's costs of the hearing, with an exception for the costs related to the husband's application for the specific appointment of Ms Bills. Further directions were made regarding the listing of other filed documents for a first-day hearing and the filing of Parenting Questionnaires.