Garde and Raddison

In *Garde and Raddison*, Dessau J of the Family Court of Australia made orders concerning the long-term care, welfare, and development of a child, J. The dispute involved the parents' arrangements for the child, with significant orders made by consent and others not by consent. The paternal grandmother was also involved, seeking leave to withdraw her application.

The court was required to determine the terms of parenting orders, specifically regarding the child's residence, parental responsibility for long-term decisions, and the extent of the father's contact with the child. Further issues included the child's name change, passport applications, interstate and overseas travel, and the provision of photographs to the father. The court also considered the withdrawal of the paternal grandmother's application and the dismissal of extant applications.

Dessau J made orders by consent granting the wife sole parental responsibility for long-term decisions and ordering that the child live with the wife. Crucially, the court ordered that the husband should not spend any time with the child. Orders not by consent included provisions for the wife to provide the husband with a photograph of the child every second year, the wife's liberty to change the child's name, and the dispensing with the husband's consent for passport applications and name changes. The court also empowered the Registrar to sign documents on behalf of the husband and permitted the wife to travel interstate and overseas with the child without notification to the husband. The paternal grandmother was granted leave to withdraw her application. The court noted that the father did not oppose the orders, making no admissions as to their justification, and had discontinued his application to spend time with the child in the belief that this fostered the child's best interests. The court also included a fact sheet detailing the obligations and consequences of contravening the orders.