Busch and O’Shea

In the Family Court of Australia, Mr Busch (the applicant father) sought orders for his child, R, to spend 18 days on an overseas holiday in Scotland with him. Ms O’Shea (the respondent mother) opposed the application, seeking an expert report on the potential effects of the holiday on the child before any orders were made. The Court refused the mother's application for an adjournment, finding it was not made in a timely manner, and proceeded to an interim hearing to determine if the proposed overseas travel was in the child's best interests.

The Court was required to determine whether permitting the child to travel to Scotland for 18 days to spend time with her father would serve the child's best interests, considering the usual interim evidentiary basis. This involved assessing the primary and additional considerations outlined in section 60CC of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), including the benefit of a meaningful relationship with both parents, the need to protect the child from harm, the child's views, and the nature of the child's relationships with her parents and other significant persons. The Court also considered the principles established in cases such as *Kuebler & Kuebler* and the overarching requirement to regard the best interests of the child as paramount.

The Court reasoned that the proposed 18-day trip was not an excessively long period, particularly given the father's limited opportunities for extended time with the child due to his residence in Scotland and work commitments in Australia. It found the father's application to be bona fide and rejected the mother's assertion that it was a ploy to reduce child support obligations. The Court emphasised the importance of the child maintaining her relationship with her father and her extended family in Scotland, noting there was no evidence of harm or an inability of the father to care for the child. The Court also concluded that the likelihood of the child being returned to Australia was not a concern, with the father's promise to return the child expected to be honoured. The Court applied the principles from *Kuebler* and subsequent cases, alongside the statutory considerations under the *Family Law Act 1975*, to conclude that the overseas travel was in the child's best interests.

The Court ordered that the child spend time with the father in Scotland from 28 June 2013 to 15 July 2013. Specific conditions were imposed, including the father providing a confirmed itinerary and contact details, personally supervising the child at all times, ensuring the child was available for telephone contact with the mother, and being responsible for all travel costs. The mother was ordered to provide the child's passport to the father for the duration of the trip, and the father was to return it upon their return to Australia.