CANDELER & CANDELER (No.3)

In *Candeler & Candeler (No.3)*, Brown J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application for final parenting orders concerning two children, X (born 2007) and Y (born 2008). The central dispute involved the mother's wish to relocate with the children to Adelaide, a proposal that followed previous orders requiring her to live with the children in Town B. The court evaluated several proposed care arrangements for the children, with a focus on maintaining a meaningful relationship between the children and both parents, and the principle of equal shared parental responsibility.

The legal issues before the court included determining the best interests of the children in light of the proposed relocation, assessing the practicality of various care proposals, and deciding whether to grant the mother permission to relocate the children to Adelaide. The court was required to consider the implications of such a move on the children's relationship with their father and to balance the mother's desire to relocate with the father's parental rights and the children's welfare.

Brown J applied the principles of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), particularly those relating to equal shared parental responsibility and the paramount consideration of the children's best interests. The court considered the evidence presented regarding the children's needs, the parents' capacity to co-parent, and the logistical challenges of a long-distance parenting arrangement. The reasoning involved a careful evaluation of how each proposed arrangement would promote the children's development and their relationship with both parents.

The court ordered the discharge of all previous parenting orders and established equal shared parental responsibility for the children. The children were ordered to live with the mother, who was authorised to relocate with them to suburban Adelaide and enrol them in specific schools. Detailed provisions were made for the father's time with the children, including during school terms and holidays, as well as for special occasions and communication between the parents and children. Injunctions were granted restraining the mother from changing the children's residence or school within a specified radius of Adelaide without the father's consent, and restraining both parents from removing the children from Australia without written permission. The father was also given a limited time to pursue contravention applications.