Valack & Valack

The parties in this matter, Valack & Valack, sought a review of a registrar's decision to refuse an exemption from filing a current family dispute resolution certificate. The dispute also concerned the registrar's decision not to accept an initiating application for filing. The matter came before Judge Jarrett.

The court was required to determine whether the application for review, filed on 26 March 2020, should be treated as an application for relief pursuant to section 5 of the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977* (Cth). If so, the court also had to consider whether the registrar's decision not to accept the initiating application for filing on 21 February 2020 should be set aside under that Act, and whether the application should then be accepted for filing, and if so, what the effective filing date should be.

The court directed the parties to file written submissions addressing these specific legal issues. The primary question was the appropriate procedural pathway for the review, specifically whether the *Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977* was the correct avenue for challenging the registrar's refusal to accept the initiating application. The court indicated it would consider treating the existing application for review as one made under that Act, and then determine the merits of setting aside the registrar's decision and the consequential orders regarding the filing of the initiating application.