Dowling and Wallace

This matter concerned parental responsibility and time orders concerning a child born in 2009, brought before Judge Phipps. The dispute centred on how parental responsibilities should be allocated and the specific arrangements for the child's time with each parent.

The court was required to determine the allocation of parental responsibility for major long-term issues, including the child's name, living arrangements, education, religious and cultural upbringing, and health. Additionally, the court needed to establish detailed orders for the child's time with the father, encompassing weekdays, weekends, school holidays, and special occasions, as well as provisions for handovers, communication, and the exchange of information regarding the child's schooling and health.

Judge Phipps ordered that the parents share responsibility for the child's name and significant changes to living arrangements, while the mother would have sole responsibility for other major long-term issues, subject to consultation and genuine effort to reach joint decisions with the father, with the mother having the final say if agreement could not be reached. The child was ordered to live with the mother, with specific and detailed arrangements for the child to spend time with the father, including provisions for handovers, access to school information, attendance at school functions, notification of illness, and the right to information from health professionals. The orders also included injunctions restraining denigration of the other parent in the child's presence and discussion of proceedings, and a requirement for 21 days' notice for taking the child out of the State of Victoria.