Wade & McPherson

The Federal Circuit Court, presided over by Judge Scarlett, considered an application for parenting orders concerning a child who was subject to state welfare law. The central dispute revolved around whether the Federal Circuit Court possessed jurisdiction to hear the application, particularly in light of section 69ZK of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth).

The court was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether it had jurisdiction to make parenting orders under the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) when the child in question was already covered by state welfare law. Secondly, the court considered whether the circumstances warranted the removal of the substantive application to the Full Court of the Family Court for a special case to be stated, as requested by the applicant.

Judge Scarlett reasoned that section 69ZK of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) expressly limits the court's jurisdiction in such circumstances, thereby precluding the making of parenting orders. Regarding the request for a special case, the court held that the procedure under section 94A of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) should be reserved for exceptional circumstances. As the factual issues were neither lengthy nor complex, and the question of law could be determined at first instance, the court found no basis to accede to the applicant's request for removal.

Consequently, the court dismissed both the Application in a Case filed on 8 May 2013 and the Initiating Application filed on 11 April 2013.