Department of Family and Community Services & Raelson

The Department of Family and Community Services, as the Central Authority, applied to the Family Court of Australia for the return of two children to the United States of America, pursuant to the Hague Convention. The application was brought on behalf of the children's mother, Ms Raelson, who is a US national and resident, and the respondent was the children's father, Mr Raelson, an Australian national and resident. The children had lived in both the United States and Australia at various times.

The court was required to determine several legal issues. These included whether the children were habitually resident in the United States immediately before the alleged date of wrongful retention, whether the mother had acquiesced in the children remaining in Australia, and if so, whether a return order should still be made. Additionally, the court considered whether the application constituted an abuse of process and ought to be permanently stayed.

In reaching its decision, the court found the mother to be an unreliable witness, prone to providing answers that advanced her position rather than being forthright. This conclusion was based on inconsistencies in her evidence regarding past drug use and her claims about a conspiracy to over-medicate her. The court preferred the father's evidence on disputed issues of fact, finding him to be a generally credible witness. The court determined that the children were not habitually resident in the USA immediately before 1 January 2013, and therefore, the application for their return under the Hague Convention was dismissed.

The application filed by the Department of Family and Community Services was dismissed. The interim orders made by Justice Loughnan on 8 January 2014 and 28 January 2014 were discharged.