CROFT & CROFT

This matter concerned orders made by Brown J regarding the care arrangements for two children, X and Y. The applicant father, whose employment involved a complex rotating roster, sought orders concerning the children's time with him. The dispute centred on how the father's roster would integrate with the children's time with him, particularly during school terms and holidays, and also involved issues of parental responsibility and communication between the parents.

The court was required to determine the specific arrangements for the children to spend time with their father, taking into account his work roster. This included defining the duration and timing of these periods during school terms, short school holidays, and longer holiday periods such as Christmas and Easter. Additionally, the court needed to address the allocation of parental responsibility for major long-term decisions concerning the children's health and education, and to establish protocols for communication between the parents and with the children.

Brown J made orders that the children live with the mother, who retained sole parental responsibility for major long-term decisions regarding their health and education, subject to specific notification and authorisation requirements to the father. The father was granted parental responsibility for all other major long-term issues. The court then detailed a complex schedule for the children to spend time with the father during school terms, which was explicitly linked to his eight-week work roster, with specific provisions for school holidays and special occasions, including Easter, Christmas, and Father's Day. The orders also included injunctions restraining both parties from certain behaviours, such as attending the children's sporting activities when not in their care, discussing the proceedings with the children, criticising the other parent in the children's presence, and physically disciplining the children. Handovers were to occur at a specified location, and a communication book was to be used for matters concerning the children's care, welfare, and development.