BANHAM & BANHAM (No.2)

In *Banham & Banham (No.2)*, the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the mother to vary a final parenting order. The dispute centred on whether there had been a sufficient change in circumstances since the making of the final order to warrant its alteration.

The primary legal issue before Judge McNab was whether the threshold for varying a final parenting order, as established in cases such as *Rice v Asplund*, had been met. A secondary issue was whether a family report was necessary to determine this question.

Judge McNab reasoned that the mother had failed to demonstrate a significant new circumstance that had arisen since the making of the final order, which would justify a review. The court applied the principles from *Rice v Asplund*, which require a substantial change in circumstances to justify varying a final order, and found that the evidence presented did not meet this stringent test. Consequently, the court determined that a family report was not required as the application lacked the necessary foundation for variation.

The mother’s amended application to vary the final parenting order was dismissed, as were all other extant applications. The court made no orders as to costs.