HIGGINS & HIGGINS

In *Higgins & Higgins*, heard by Judge Phipps of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, the dispute concerned international travel arrangements for two children. The mother sought permission to apply for Australian passports for the children and to travel internationally with them, notwithstanding the father's refusal to sign the passport application and his objection to international travel. The mother also sought to take the children on a holiday to a specified country during the third term school holidays.

The court was required to determine whether to grant the mother permission to obtain passports for the children without the father's consent and whether to permit the children to travel internationally. Additionally, the court had to consider the terms and conditions under which any international travel would be permitted, including notice requirements, accommodation details, contact information, and financial security.

Judge Phipps reasoned that it was in the children's best interests to allow them to travel internationally, subject to certain conditions designed to safeguard the father's parental rights and ensure the children's return to Australia. The court applied principles of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), specifically ss. 65DA(2) and 62B, which relate to parental responsibility and contravention of court orders. The court ordered that the mother be permitted to apply for passports and travel internationally with the children, provided she gave the father detailed travel information, confirmed accommodation and contact details, and lodged a sum of $2,000 with the court registry as security. This sum was to be forfeited to the father if the children were not returned to Australia by the commencement of the fourth school term, and repaid to the mother upon production of the children's passports. Further orders stipulated 30 days' written notice for any future international travel by either parent.