Halstead and Lees and Anor (No 2)

This case concerned applications brought by the father and paternal grandmother regarding the whereabouts and welfare of two children, X and Y. The mother had previously been permitted to remove the children from Australia for travel purposes, but she failed to return them to the jurisdiction and indicated no intention to do so. The mother and children's current location was unknown. The court was required to determine whether to issue recovery and location orders for the children, whether to issue a warrant for the mother's arrest, and whether to make publication orders concerning the children.

The court considered the purpose of section 121 of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) in relation to the paternal grandmother's request for publication orders. It found that exceptional circumstances did not exist to justify deviating from the protection of the children's identification, and therefore, the publication order was not made. The court also considered the utility of a warrant for the mother's arrest, noting that as she was not in the Commonwealth and it was unlikely to be executed, it would offer no advantage in recovering the children.

The court issued a recovery order pursuant to s 67Q of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), authorising various law enforcement officers to find and recover the children, search premises, and deliver them to the paternal grandmother. All previous parenting orders in favour of the mother were suspended, and the children were to live with the paternal grandmother during the adjournment. Location orders were also made pursuant to s 67N of the Act, directing Centrelink, the Australian Border Force, the Department of Home Affairs, Medicare, and the National Disability Insurance Scheme to provide information regarding the mother's and children's locations, with the court satisfied that exceptional and special circumstances warranted these orders. The mother was restrained from removing the children from the paternal grandmother's care, and she was ordered to deliver the children to the paternal grandmother within seven days.