Harlow and Astin (No. 2)

In the matter of *Harlow and Astin (No. 2)*, Barry J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application concerning the welfare of a child born in March 1998. The dispute involved the parents' arrangements for the child, specifically regarding supervised time, the collection of evidence related to the mother's interactions with the child's school, and the child's ability to travel internationally.

The court was required to determine several key issues. These included the appropriate arrangements for the mother to spend supervised time with the child, the extent to which the father could gather further information from the child's school regarding the mother's conduct, and whether to grant leave for the father's legal representatives to show the mother's affidavit to school staff. Crucially, the court also had to decide whether to issue a passport for the child to enable overseas travel with the father and whether to substitute the mother's consent for the passport application.

Barry J ordered that the mother would have supervised time with the child for two hours every Sunday at a specified contact centre, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the parties. The court further permitted the father to obtain detailed statements from the school principal and Mrs K, as well as any other staff who had dealings with the mother concerning the child's speech and drama classes. Leave was granted for the father's legal representatives to allow the principal and witnesses to view the mother's version of events as presented in her affidavit. In relation to international travel, the court ordered the immediate issuance of a passport for the child pursuant to section 11 of the *Australian Passports Act 2005*, authorising a Registrar to sign the passport renewal application in substitution for the mother's consent, to facilitate the father's travel with the child to New Zealand during the September school holidays. The matter was then adjourned.