Filby & Northcott (No. 2)

In the matter of *Filby & Northcott (No. 2)*, Baumann J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the father seeking an increase in the time the children spent with him, contrasted with the mother's desire to maintain the current interim arrangements. The dispute concerned the living arrangements and time spent between the children and each parent.

The court was required to determine the best interests of the children, X and Y, in relation to their time spent with each parent. This involved considering the principles of equal shared parental responsibility and the practical arrangements for time spent between the parents, as guided by the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), particularly sections 61DA and 65DAA. The court also had to assess the evidence presented by both parents regarding various incidents and their impact on the children's welfare.

Baumann J applied the principles established in *Goode & Goode*, clarifying that the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility does not automatically equate to a presumption of equal time. The court must first consider if equal time is in the child's best interests and reasonably practicable, and if not, then consider substantial and significant time. The judge found that while both parents believed a meaningful relationship with both was in the children's best interests, the mother's criticisms of the father's parenting, such as a bleeding nose incident, a quad bike accident, a broken tooth, ear pulling allegations, gun storage, and head lice, were generally minor and adequately explained by the father. The court viewed these criticisms as an attempt to undermine the father's parenting rather than a genuine reflection of risk. The judge also noted the mother's defensive and potentially misleading evidence regarding one of the children's accidents, highlighting that she was not present at the time of the incident.

The court ordered that the parents have equal shared parental responsibility for the children. The children were to live with the mother and spend time with the father as agreed, or failing agreement, on specific alternating weekends and halves of school holidays. The orders also detailed telephone communication arrangements, changeover procedures, special days, extra-curricular activities, exchange of information, restraints on relocation and contact with specific individuals, and provisions for passports and overseas travel. Specifically, the children were to spend five nights per fortnight with the father, increasing to six nights per fortnight from the commencement of the 2022 school year.