BICKERT & OAKDEN

This matter concerned parenting orders made by consent between the Mother and Father regarding their child, X, born in 2016. The dispute centred on the arrangements for parental responsibility, the child's living arrangements, and communication between the parents.

The court was required to determine the extent of parental responsibility, including how significant parenting issues would be managed. It also needed to establish the child's living arrangements, both in the short term until the child commenced school and thereafter, considering the parents' respective locations. Further issues included provisions for the Father's time with the child, travel arrangements, communication protocols, and specific arrangements for holidays and birthdays.

By consent, the court ordered that the parents share equal parental responsibility for the child, with each parent to be kept informed and to consult the other on significant parenting issues. These issues were defined to include medical and health matters, education, disciplinary matters, social development, religion, changes to the child's surname, and alterations to living arrangements that impact time with a parent. Day-to-day decisions were to be made by the parent with whom the child was living at the time. The orders then detailed specific living arrangements, including equal time until school commenced, followed by the child living with the Mother in City C from January 2022. Provisions were made for the Father's time with the child, including school holidays and monthly weekends, with alternative arrangements if the Father relocated to City C. The orders also addressed travel costs, changeovers, communication, special days, and restrictions on removing the child from Queensland without consent.