EASLING & GRAYSON

In the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, Judge C.E. Kirton QC considered an application by the father for an urgent recovery order concerning the child, X. The dispute arose from the mother withholding the child contrary to final orders that stipulated the child live with the father. The child had resided continuously with the father in Victoria since 2013, and the mother had failed to return the child to Victoria, indicating no intention to do so, and had unilaterally enrolled the child in a school in Western Australia.

The court was required to determine whether to issue a recovery order for the child, X, and to consider the mother's application to vary the existing final orders. The central legal issue was the best interests of the child in circumstances where one parent had contravened existing parenting orders by retaining the child in a different state and enrolling them in a new school without the father's consent or a court order.

The court reasoned that issuing a recovery order was in the best interests of the child, given the father's existing residence orders and the mother's actions in contravening those orders. The court applied sections 67Q and 67U of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) to authorise the recovery of the child. However, the court also stayed the recovery order for 72 hours and adjourned the matter for a further hearing to determine the mother's application to vary the final orders, acknowledging the need to address both the immediate recovery and the underlying dispute regarding the parenting arrangements.

The court ordered that a recovery order issue, authorising law enforcement to find and recover the child and deliver them to the father in Victoria. This order was stayed until 4:00 pm on 3 September 2020. The matter was adjourned to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia on 4 November 2020 for mention by videolink, and the parties' costs were reserved. The court also noted that particulars of obligations and consequences of contravention were set out in an annexure to the orders.