ZANG & ZHAO

The case of *Zang & Zhao* concerned an application by a stepmother for orders relating to a 17-year-old child. The primary dispute revolved around whether the applicant, as a stepmother, was a person concerned with the care, welfare, or development of the child for the purposes of section 65C of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). Additionally, the application sought orders concerning the allocation of parental responsibility under section 65G of the Act, in circumstances where no parent or relative was to be allocated such responsibility. The matter came before Judge Scarlett.

The court was required to determine several legal issues. These included whether the stepmother qualified as a person concerned with the child's care, welfare, or development under the *Family Law Act*. Further, the court had to consider the competency of the application for a bridging visa, the jurisdiction to grant such a visa, and the appropriateness of an injunction to restrain the child's removal from Australia, particularly in the absence of evidence suggesting such an intention. The court also had to address applications for interim orders on short notice, an application to amend the proceedings to include the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, and the admissibility of documents not accompanied by an English translation.

Judge Scarlett found that the application for interim and final orders was incompetent and therefore summarily dismissed. The court reasoned that the stepmother did not meet the threshold of being a person concerned with the care, welfare, or development of the child under section 65C of the *Family Law Act*. Consequently, the court lacked jurisdiction to make the parenting orders sought. The applications relating to migration law were also deemed incompetent, with no jurisdiction found. The application to amend the proceedings was refused as futile. The court also noted that documents should be in English or accompanied by a translation, highlighting a handwritten document in Chinese annexed to an affidavit without a translation.

The application filed on 12 February 2016 for interim and final orders was summarily dismissed.