AMIR & ALZA

In the matter of AMIR & ALZA, Hannam J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered interim parenting arrangements for four children and an application for personal protection orders. The dispute involved the living arrangements of the two older children, B and C, and whether the father should be restrained from contacting or approaching the mother and all four children. The court also addressed concerns regarding the parenting capacity of both parents and the safety of the children, leading to a request for intervention by the Secretary of the NSW Department of Family and Community Services.

The primary legal issues before the court were the interim living arrangements for the two older children, B and C, and the necessity of imposing personal protection orders against the father. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the father should be restrained from contacting or approaching the mother and the children, and whether the two older children were under the care of a person subject to Child Welfare law for the purposes of section 69ZK(1) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The court also considered a request for intervention by the NSW Department of Family and Community Services under section 91B of the Act, prompted by concerns about the parents' capacity and the children's safety.

Hannam J made several orders by consent regarding the interim living arrangements for the two younger children, D and E, who were to live with the mother. The father was also restrained from contacting or approaching the mother and the younger children, D and E, with orders for personal protection and a power of arrest without warrant. However, the application to restrain the father from contacting or approaching the older children, B and C, was dismissed. The court adjourned further consideration of certain orders concerning the older children, noting the matter was being treated as a Magellan case. Crucially, the Secretary of the NSW Department of Family and Community Services was requested to intervene in the proceedings, with directions for filing a Notice of Intervention and granting leave for the Secretary to inspect court documents and for the applicant to issue a subpoena to the Department.