The power to appoint a court expert under r 15.09 of the Federal Magistrates Court Rules (or O 34 of the Federal Court Rules) is part of the court's case management armoury and is to be broadly understood, but is not ordinarily to be exercised for the purpose of assisting an impecunious party to gather evidence or to cure deficiencies in a party's evidence. Section 30(1)(b) of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) does not authorise the court to modify the effect of s 120(1) by ordering payment of the difference between market value and consideration given rather than declaring the transfer void. A court making adjustments to a valuation must find support for the adjustment in the evidence and must not arrogate to itself the role of an additional expert.
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