Ashforth and Ashforth

In *Ashforth and Ashforth*, the Honourable Justice Cronin considered orders concerning the living arrangements and time spent with a child, E, born in April 2009. The dispute involved the parents, Mr. Ashforth and Mrs. Ashforth, and the court was tasked with determining appropriate orders for the child's welfare.

The court was required to determine the primary residence of the child, the specific times the child would spend with the husband, and the conditions under which these periods of time would occur. Further issues included the location of child changeovers, restrictions on the child's movement within Australia, and the prevention of the child's removal from the Commonwealth of Australia. The court also needed to consider the provision of information to the parties regarding their obligations and the consequences of contravening the orders.

Justice Cronin ordered that the child E would live with the wife until further order. The husband was granted specific periods of time with the child, including several short periods in December 2009 and a longer period in early January 2010. These short periods were to take place in the presence of the maternal grandfather. Changeovers were to occur at a location nominated by the husband, provided it was within a half-hour's travel of the wife's residence. The husband was restrained from removing the child from the Sydney metropolitan area during these specified times. Crucially, both parties were restrained from removing the child from the Commonwealth of Australia, with specific instructions for the Australian Federal Police to place the child on the Airport Watch List until midday on 9 January 2010. The court also ordered that particulars of the obligations and consequences of contravention, as set out in an attached Fact Sheet, be included in the orders pursuant to sections 65DA(2) and 62B of the relevant legislation.