In a genuine emergency, you can make an application any time after a Notice of Family Claim has been filed, with no notice or very little notice given to the other side.  In most other cases, you <span class="noglossary">will</span> have to wait until a judicial case conference (JCC) has been heard, although Rule 7-1 has a list of exceptions to this general rule.  Once there a JCC has been held, however, applications can be brought at any time.