Buchanan and Marlow

In the matter of *Buchanan and Marlow*, heard by Foster J, the dispute concerned parental responsibility and the welfare of two children, A and B. The applicant mother, Ms Buchanan, sought orders regarding the children's living arrangements, parental responsibility, and international travel, while also seeking to restrain the father, Mr Marlow, from communicating with or approaching the children and their home.

The court was required to determine whether to grant the mother sole parental responsibility for the children, whether the children should live with the mother, and whether the children should be permitted to travel internationally. Furthermore, the court had to consider whether the mother should be allowed to apply for an Australian travel document for the children without the father's consent, and whether to impose restrictions on the father's communication with and proximity to the children.

Foster J ordered that the applicant mother have sole parental responsibility for the children, and that the children live with the mother. The court also permitted the children to have an Australian travel document and to travel internationally, with the mother able to apply for such a document without the father's consent. Crucially, the father was restrained from communicating with the children by any means, approaching within 500 metres of their home or school, and approaching within 500 metres of the children themselves. The father was granted liberty to apply in relation to these orders.