GM & RKM

The case of *GM & RKM* concerned an appeal to the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia. The dispute involved an application for final parenting orders.

The primary legal issue before the Full Court was whether the primary judge had erred in making final parenting orders that departed from the terms of a conciliation conference certificate. Specifically, the court had to determine if the primary judge was justified in making orders that were not agreed upon at the conciliation conference, and if so, under what circumstances such a departure could be permissible.

The Full Court reasoned that a conciliation conference certificate, while carrying significant weight, does not create an estoppel or a binding agreement that prevents a court from making different orders. The court affirmed that the paramount consideration in parenting matters remains the best interests of the child. Therefore, if the primary judge had sufficient grounds to believe that the orders agreed upon at the conciliation conference were not in the child's best interests, the judge was entitled to depart from those terms. The court emphasised the importance of the primary judge's discretion in such circumstances, provided that discretion was exercised judicially and with proper regard to the evidence and the child's welfare.

The Full Court allowed the appeal, finding that the primary judge had not erred in law by making orders that departed from the conciliation conference certificate, as the judge had adequately considered the child's best interests.