BILLSON & BILLSON

This case concerned parenting orders made by Tree J in the Family Court of Australia. The parties, a mother and father, had agreed to equal shared parental responsibility for their child and that the child would permanently relocate to the United Kingdom to live with the mother, spending substantial holiday time with the father. The primary dispute revolved around the mother's application to restrain the father from travelling with the child outside of Europe during short holiday periods and the father's financial obligations concerning the child's travel costs and private school fees.

The court was required to determine whether it was in the child's best interests to impose restrictions on the father's travel with the child during short holiday periods. Additionally, the court had to consider the mother's application for a departure order under s 117 of the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989* (Cth) to require the father to pay all school tuition fees, given the significant disparity in the parties' incomes and the shortfall between the administrative assessment and the actual costs of education.

In relation to the travel restrictions, the court found that it was in the child's best interests for no such restrictions to be imposed when the child was spending time with the father. The court reasoned that the father was in a financial position to cover the child's travel costs, with the mother contributing one return airfare annually. Regarding child support, the court found that the grounds for a departure order were established, noting the father's significantly higher income and the shortfall in educational costs. The court determined it was just and equitable to require the father to pay the annual school fees, and that his contribution to these fees should be credited against his child support liability.

The final orders reflected these determinations. The court discharged previous orders and confirmed equal shared parental responsibility, permitting the child's relocation to the UK to live with the mother. Specific provisions were made for the child spending time with the father, including various school holidays and a portion of the long summer holiday. Neither parent was restrained from travelling with the child, subject to notification requirements. The father was ordered to pay all travel costs associated with his time with the child, except for one annual return airfare to Australia to be paid by the mother. The father was also ordered to pay all compulsory tuition fees for the child's private schooling until the conclusion of her secondary education, with these payments to be credited against his child support liability.