FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA
(DIVISION 1)
Gwerder & Perrie [2025] FedCFamC1F 56
File number(s): BRC 15456 of 2024 Judgment of: HOWARD J Date of judgment: 5 February 2025 Catchwords: FAMILY LAW – PARENTING – interim application - international relocation - where the mother seeks to relocate the child’s residence to New Zealand for nine months – where the father opposes that application – where the child is currently spending overnight time with the father – where the final orders sought by the mother include permission to relocate the residence of the subject child to New Zealand - where the mother’s interim application for relocation is dismissed Legislation: Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) Cases cited: Davin & Kerrane [2023] FedCFamC1F 853
Gaize & Gaize [2020] FCCA 296
Division: Division 1 First Instance Number of paragraphs: 24 Date of hearing: 5 February 2025 Place: Brisbane Counsel for the Applicant: Ms Lyons Solicitor for the Applicant: Anthony Black Family Law Counsel for the Respondent: Mr Coker Solicitor for the Respondent: Damien Greer Lawyers Solicitor for the Independent Children's Lawyer: Norman & Kingston ORDERS
BRC 15456 of 2024 FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA (DIVISION 1)
BETWEEN: MS GWERDER
Applicant
AND: MR PERRIE
Respondent
INDEPENDENT CHILDREN'S LAWYER
ORDER MADE BY:
HOWARD J
DATE OF ORDER:
5 FEBRUARY 2025
THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
1.The Mother’s Application in a Proceeding filed 7 November 2024 be dismissed.
2.Pursuant to s 114Q of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) the Applicant Mother be granted leave to provide a copy of this Order and the Judgement delivered today to B University in New Zealand.
3.Upon seven (7) days’ notice, the Independent Children’s Lawyer is at liberty to contact the chambers of the Honourable Justice Howard ( by way of email to (…@...) and request the matter be relisted for mention.
Trial Directions
4.These proceedings be set down for final hearing for not more than two (2) days commencing at 10.00am on 10 November 2025 in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) at Brisbane before the Honourable Justice Howard.
5.In the event a party or a party’s lawyer fails to comply with an obligation imposed by these Orders (or any part of these Orders) then at the final hearing commencing on
10 November 2025 the Court shall consider:(a)making a costs order against a non-complying party; and/or
(b)proceeding with the matter on that day as an undefended hearing.
6.The parties and their legal representatives shall personally attend Court for the final hearing commencing on 10 November 2025.
7.The Applicant pay any hearing fee or seek a waiver of the fee no later than 4.00pm on 13 October 2025.
8.Each party shall file and serve on each other party no later than 4.00pm on 13 October 2025.
(a)one (1) consolidated Affidavit of evidence in chief of that party;
(b)a Financial Statement; and
(c)one (1) Affidavit of each witness intended to be relied upon at the trial.
9.Any Affidavit filed in accordance with…
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CaseChat Overview and Summary
In its reasoning, the court found that while the mother had legitimate reasons for seeking to relocate, the child's current living arrangement with the father was well-established, and the proposed relocation would disrupt this stability. The court emphasised the importance of maintaining a consistent overnight arrangement for the child, given the father's role in the child's life. The court also considered the potential impact of the relocation on the child's education and social connections. Given these factors, the court decided that the mother's application for relocation should be dismissed, as it was not in the child's best interests to disrupt the current arrangement at this time.
The court's final orders dismissed the mother's interim application for relocation and set down the proceedings for a final hearing. The mother was granted leave to provide a copy of the court's order and judgment to B University in New Zealand. The Independent Children's Lawyer was permitted to request a relisting of the matter within seven days' notice. The final hearing was scheduled to commence on 10 November 2025, with specific directions given regarding the filing of evidence, case outlines, and the conduct of the hearing. Additionally, the court noted the legal restrictions on the communication of family law proceedings and warned of potential penalties for non-compliance.
Orders
Orders of the court
BRC 15456 of 2024
FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA (DIVISION 1)
BETWEEN:
MS GWERDER
Applicant
AND:
MR PERRIE
Respondent
INDEPENDENT CHILDREN'S LAWYER
ORDER MADE BY:
HOWARD J
DATE OF ORDER:
5 FEBRUARY 2025
THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
1. The Mother’s Application in a Proceeding filed 7 November 2024 be dismissed.
2. Pursuant to s 114Q of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) the Applicant Mother be granted leave to provide a copy of this Order and the Judgement delivered today to B University in New Zealand.
3. Upon seven (7) days’ notice, the Independent Children’s Lawyer is at liberty to contact the chambers of the Honourable Justice Howard ( by way of email to (…@...) and request the matter be relisted for mention.
Trial Directions
4. These proceedings be set down for final hearing for not more than two (2) days commencing at 10.00am on 10 November 2025 in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) at Brisbane before the Honourable Justice Howard.
5. In the event a party or a party’s lawyer fails to comply with an obligation imposed by these Orders (or any part of these Orders) then at the final hearing commencing on
10 November 2025 the Court shall consider:
(a) making a costs order against a non-complying party; and/or
(b) proceeding with the matter on that day as an undefended hearing.
6. The parties and their legal representatives shall personally attend Court for the final hearing commencing on 10 November 2025.
7. The Applicant pay any hearing fee or seek a waiver of the fee no later than 4.00pm on 13 October 2025.
8. Each party shall file and serve on each other party no later than 4.00pm on 13 October 2025.
(a) one (1) consolidated Affidavit of evidence in chief of that party;
(b) a Financial Statement; and
(c) one (1) Affidavit of each witness intended to be relied upon at the trial.
9. Any Affidavit filed in accordance with the preceding Order shall:
(a) have any annexures which the deponent may refer to in the Affidavit attached to the Affidavit;
(b) contain an index of any attached annexures; and
(c) be paginated from the commencement of the Affidavit through to the end of the attached annexures.
10. In the event that documents are annexed to an affidavit, attention is drawn to r 8.15(3)(e) of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth).
11. Each party shall file and serve on each other party no later than 4.00pm on 27 October 2025, a Case Outline setting out:
(a) a precise minute of the final orders sought;
(b) a relevant chronology;
(c) a schedule of the asserted assets and liabilities;
(d) a list of the issues which each party asserts that the Court needs to determine at the trial; and
(e) a list of Affidavits and Applications and/or Responses intended to be relied upon at trial. This order is subject to the orders contained in paragraphs 5(a) and 5(c) 8(a) and 8(c) herein.
12. No party shall be entitled to rely upon any affidavit not filed in accordance with these orders without the leave of the Court.
13. Should either party wish to raise any objections to evidence – such party shall file and serve a “Notice of Objections to Evidence” (containing a list of objections) at least fourteen (14) days prior to the commencement of the final hearing.
14. In the event that a party wishes to cross examine the family report writer/single expert at the Final Hearing, that party shall provide written notice to the family report writer/single expert of such intention as soon as reasonably practicable, but by no later than 4.00pm on 13 October 2025.
15. Should either party wish to request the provision of an interpreter by the Court – such party shall contact the Court via email (…@...) as soon as reasonably practicable, but by no later than 4.00pm on 13 October 2025.
16. The parties must be prepared to make oral submissions to the Court at the conclusion of the evidence at the final hearing.
THE COURT NOTES THAT:
A. That s 114Q of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) provides that it is an offence punishable by imprisonment for up to one year to communicate to the public an account of family law proceedings which identifies a party to the proceedings, or a person who is, or alleged to be, in any other way concerned in the matter to which the proceedings relate, unless specifically authorised by the Court.
B. That penalties may apply under section 114Q of Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) to the communication of any material contained in this report other than for use in connection with the proceedings.
Note: The form of the order is subject to the entry in the Court’s records.
Note: This copy of the Court’s Reasons for judgment may be subject to review to remedy minor typographical or grammatical errors (r 10.14(b) Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth)), or to record a variation to the order pursuant to r 10.13 Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth).
Part XIVB of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) makes it an offence, except in very limited circumstances, to publish an account of proceedings that identify persons, associated persons, or witnesses involved in family law proceedings.
Background
Background to the litigation
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Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
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Decision
Reasons for decision
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Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
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