Yee and Woo

In the matter of *Yee and Woo*, heard before Judge Monahan, the dispute concerned an application to make a divorce order final. A divorce order had been made on 12 February 2018, but the court was not satisfied that appropriate arrangements had been made for the care, welfare, and development of the parties' two children, born in 2007 and 2010.

The central legal issue before the court was whether there were circumstances justifying the divorce order taking effect despite the lack of satisfaction regarding the children's arrangements. This required the court to consider the provisions of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) concerning the finalisation of divorce orders when children are involved.

Judge Monahan reasoned that while the court's usual practice is to ensure satisfactory arrangements for children before finalising a divorce, there can be exceptional circumstances that permit a divorce order to take effect regardless. The court found that such circumstances existed in this case, allowing for the divorce order to proceed to finality. Consequently, the court declared that the divorce order made on 12 February 2018 would become final in one month's time and dismissed all other extant applications.