Cobb & Jepson

In *Cobb & Jepson*, Carew J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the father to relocate with the child to the United Kingdom. The dispute involved complex parenting orders that had been the subject of previous litigation, with the current proceedings seeking to vary these orders to permit the relocation. The mother opposed the relocation and sought to alter the existing living arrangements and parental responsibility.

The court was required to determine whether it was in the child's best interests to relocate to the United Kingdom with the father. This involved assessing the father's capacity to support the child in the UK, his likelihood of facilitating the child's ongoing relationship with the mother and grandmother, and whether the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a delay in the relocation. Additionally, the court considered issues relating to the child's time with the mother, the potential neglect by the father, and the impact of parental conflict on the child's behaviour and school attendance. The court also had to decide whether the father's proposed relocation constituted a significant change warranting a variation of the existing 'final' parenting order, applying the principles established in *Rice & Asplund*.

Carew J reasoned that the father's proposed relocation to the United Kingdom was a significant change that warranted a variation of the previous parenting orders. The court found that the father had the capacity to support the child and would likely facilitate ongoing contact with the mother and grandmother. The evidence did not establish a sufficient degree of significance to warrant a reversal of the child's living arrangements or parental responsibility. The court concluded that it was in the child's best interests to continue to live with the father and for the father to retain sole parental responsibility.

The court ordered that the father continue to have sole parental responsibility for the child and that the child continue to live with the father. The father was granted liberty to relocate to England with the child, and the child was to be removed from the Family Law Watch List. The orders also detailed extensive provisions for the child's time with the grandmother and mother, both before and after the relocation, including travel arrangements, communication protocols, and financial responsibilities. Previous orders were discharged, and specific applications were dismissed.