CAMPBELL & STACK

In *Campbell & Stack*, the Family Court of Australia considered an application by Mr Campbell (the Father) for a Recovery Order concerning his son, B, born in 1998. The Respondent Mother, Ms Stack, did not appear at the hearing. The dispute arose from the Mother's alleged contravention of final consent orders made in December 2010, which stipulated that the children were to live with the Father and that the Father had sole parental responsibility. The Mother had reportedly refused to take the child to school for an extended period and had failed to return the child to the Father's care as required by the orders.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether to grant the Father's application for a Recovery Order and, in light of doubts about the Mother's whereabouts, whether to grant a Location Order. The Court was required to determine if the Father had the necessary rights to apply for a Recovery Order and if the circumstances warranted its issuance, considering the best interests of the child. Additionally, the Court had to consider the appropriate means to locate the child and facilitate his return to the Father.

Justice Kent found that the Father had the requisite rights to apply for a Recovery Order under section 67T of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The Court was satisfied that the Mother had failed to comply with the final consent orders and that her actions were not in the child's best interests. Consequently, the Court made both a Location Order and a Recovery Order. The Recovery Order was structured to allow the Mother an opportunity to voluntarily return the child by a specified date before its execution by law enforcement, aiming to avoid potential trauma to the child. The Court also issued extensive orders directing various government agencies, including Medicare, Centrelink, the Residential Tenancies Authority, Queensland Health, the Department of Transport, and the Department of Education and Training, to provide information to assist in locating the child.

The Court ordered that the Recovery Order would lie in the registry until 9:00 am on Monday, 19 December 2011. If the child was not returned by that time, the Recovery Order would be issued forthwith, authorising law enforcement officers to find and recover the child. The child was to be delivered to the Applicant Father or another agreed address. The Recovery Order was to remain in force for six months. The applicant was also ordered to pay service fees within 48 hours.