Gormon and Garnaut

The dispute before the District Court of the Australian Capital Territory concerned the parental responsibility for a child, J, and the proposed change of J's surname. Ms Gormon sought sole parental responsibility and approval to change J's surname from Garnaut to Gormon.

The court was required to determine whether to grant Ms Gormon sole parental responsibility for J and, if so, whether to approve the change of J's surname. This involved considering the best interests of the child in relation to both parental responsibility and the change of surname.

In reaching its decision, the court applied principles relating to the welfare of the child as the paramount consideration. The court ordered that Ms Gormon have sole parental responsibility for J. Furthermore, pursuant to the Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act and section 19(3) of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Act 1997 (ACT), the court approved the change of J's surname from Garnaut to Gormon and directed the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages of the ACT to amend the relevant registration. The matter was then removed from the pending cases list.