BASHIR & GHANI

In the Family Court of Australia, Judge Obradovic presided over proceedings concerning the parenting arrangements for two children, X (born 2012) and Y (born 2015). The proceedings were undefended as against the mother, and the case involved allegations of family violence. The central dispute revolved around the children's best interests and the appropriate parental responsibility and living arrangements.

The court was required to determine the paramount consideration of the children's best interests in the context of family violence allegations. Specifically, the court needed to decide whether the father should have sole parental responsibility for the children, where the children should live, and whether any orders for time between the children and the mother were appropriate. The court also considered the implications for international travel and passport applications for the children.

Applying the principles of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), particularly concerning the best interests of the child and the impact of family violence, the court found it was in the children's best interests for the father to have sole parental responsibility. Consequently, the court ordered that the children live with the father. No orders were made regarding time between the children and the mother, reflecting the circumstances of the undefended proceedings and the allegations presented. The court also discharged previous orders, including an airport watch list order, and made specific provisions to facilitate the children's international travel under the father's sole parental responsibility for passport purposes.