Horner and Horner

The case of Horner and Horner involved a dispute between the mother and father concerning parenting orders for their child. The matter came before Tree J in the Family Court of Australia.

The court was required to determine the extent of parental responsibility for major long-term issues, where the child would live, and the specific arrangements for the child's time with each parent, including provisions for travel and changeovers. Additionally, the court needed to address the process for obtaining and holding the child's passport.

Tree J ordered that the mother have sole parental responsibility for major long-term issues, with specific limitations regarding the child's surname and relocation that would impede the father's contact. The child was ordered to live with the mother, and detailed provisions were made for the child's time with the father, encompassing school terms, holidays, and Christmas periods, with specific arrangements for unaccompanied travel and associated costs. The court also established a protocol for changeovers, including a period of direction by a s 65L consultant, and outlined requirements for interstate and international travel, including passport applications and the holding of passports by the court registry. The Independent Children's Lawyer and the s 65L consultant were to be discharged 12 months from the date of the orders.