Lyon & Lyon 2014 FamCA

The Court appointed a family consultant to provide a family report.  The father alleged that the family report contained factual inaccuracies and biases and linked this to the consultant’s religious beliefs, and submitted a request to appoint an adversarial expert who had no religious or faith affiliation and especially not of Judeo-Christian persuasion.

The judge found that the father presented no evidence that the family consultant’s report was in some way flawed on the basis of his holding a particular religious or faith affiliation.  The judge considered that the father’s concerns about bias could be addressed during cross-examination.  The judge found that the father’s application did not meet the criteria in the Judge’s Rules permitting the appointment of a second expert.  The judge dismissed the father’s application.