Walsh and Walsh (Costs)

In *Walsh and Walsh (Costs)*, Justice Austin of the Supreme Court of New South Wales considered an application for costs made by the Independent Children’s Lawyer (ICL) against the respondent father. The underlying dispute concerned parenting arrangements for the parties' children.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the respondent father should be ordered to pay the costs incurred by the ICL in the proceedings. This required the Court to assess the conduct of the father in relation to the litigation and determine if it warranted an adverse costs order.

Justice Austin dismissed the ICL's application for costs against the father. While the reasons for this dismissal are not detailed in the provided extract, the decision indicates that the Court found no grounds to depart from the usual rule that each party bears their own costs in such proceedings, or that the father's conduct did not justify an exception to this rule.