GREENFIELD & CONLEY (No.2)

In this matter before Judge Young of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, the father sought various parenting orders concerning the child X, born in 2013. The dispute arose in the context of existing parenting orders made in the United States of America, which had not yet been registered in Australia despite efforts to do so. The father's proposed orders were, in part, inconsistent with these overseas orders.

The court was required to determine whether the Federal Circuit Court had jurisdiction to make parenting orders in circumstances where US orders existed but were not yet registered in Australia. A key issue was the interpretation of "a court" within subregulation 23(6) of the Family Law Regulations, and whether this encompassed the Federal Circuit Court for the purpose of registering overseas orders. The court also had to consider whether there had been a significant change in circumstances warranting a reconsideration of the existing, albeit unregistered, US parenting orders.

Judge Young found that the Federal Circuit Court was indeed a "court" for the purposes of subregulation 23(6) and was therefore empowered to direct the registration of the US orders. The court concluded that there had been no significant change in circumstances since the making of the US orders that would justify a departure from them. Consequently, the court ordered that the US orders of 5 February 2018 be registered in the Federal Circuit Court.

The court made specific orders regarding communication between the child and the non-resident parent, requiring facilitation of weekly contact via telephone, Skype, or other electronic means. It also mandated that parents provide a written itinerary 30 days prior to any international travel with the child and ordered the child's name be removed from the airport watch list. All other extant applications were dismissed.