Howard & Howard

This matter concerned parenting orders made by Tree J in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The orders discharged all previous parenting orders and established new arrangements for the children B and C, born in 2005 and 2007 respectively. The dispute centred on the division of parental responsibility, the children's living arrangements, communication protocols, and arrangements for special occasions and holidays.

The court was required to determine the specific terms of parental responsibility, including how major long-term issues would be managed and how parents would consult and reach agreement. Further issues included the detailed schedule for the children's living arrangements during school terms and holidays, including specific provisions for end-of-term breaks, Christmas holidays, and the children's birthdays. The court also had to address communication between parents and children, arrangements for overseas travel, the holding of passports, and the allocation of costs for extra-curricular activities.

Tree J ordered that the parents have equal shared parental responsibility for major long-term issues, requiring them to consult in writing if requested, act reasonably to reach agreement, and attend family dispute resolution if agreement could not be reached. The orders detailed a complex schedule for the children's living arrangements, transitioning from a fortnightly equal time arrangement to an alternating weekly schedule during school terms. Specific provisions were made for school holidays, including end-of-term breaks, Christmas, and the children's birthdays, with some variations depending on the year and whether the mother travelled overseas. The court also imposed restraints on parents speaking negatively about each other or behaving confrontationally at changeovers, and set out detailed rules for overseas travel, including notification and communication requirements. Passports were to be held at the Family Law Registry in Cairns and released only shortly before travel. The father was ordered to solely meet the costs of one agreed extra-curricular activity per child per year. The Independent Children's Lawyer was discharged, and all extant applications were dismissed.