Cable and Sampson

This matter concerned parenting orders for two children, X and Y, born in 2008 and 2011 respectively. The dispute between the parents, the applicant mother and the respondent father, led to the court discharging all previous parenting orders. The court was required to determine the future living arrangements, parental responsibility, and time spent with each parent for the children.

The court's primary focus was on the best interests of the children. It ordered that the mother have sole parental responsibility for major long-term issues, though she was required to consult the father and consider his views before making such decisions. The children were ordered to live with the mother, with specific provisions for the father's time during school terms, school holidays, and special occasions. These provisions included detailed arrangements for weekends, weekdays, and extended holiday periods, as well as specific times for birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter, Christmas, and New Year's.

Further orders addressed practical aspects of co-parenting, including handover arrangements, telephone contact, parental involvement in school life, and the exchange of medical information. The court also imposed restrictions on denigrating the other parent in the presence of the children and mandated participation in the Assisting Responsible Care for Kids (ARCK) program. Provisions were made for future counselling or mediation to improve communication and co-parenting. All previous applications were dismissed, with a separate listing for any costs applications.