JACOBOVA & STEIN

In this matter before Thornton J, the parties, the mother and the father, brought various applications concerning their child. The mother sought to enforce arrears of non-periodic child support, to change the child's surname to Jacobova-Stein, and to restrain the father from travelling with the child to countries not signatories to the Hague Convention. The father sought to discharge the child support order and opposed the change of surname.

The court was required to determine several legal issues. These included the enforceability of child support arrears, the appropriateness of changing the child's surname, and whether an injunction should be granted to prevent international travel with the child to non-Hague Convention countries. The court also considered applications relating to the child's time with each parent, particularly around significant religious and cultural days.

Thornton J granted the mother's application to enforce child support arrears in part, ordering that the total arrears of $47,507 be paid within 60 days. The court further ordered that if payment was not made, the father's motorcycle be seized and sold to satisfy the debt, with any balance to be paid by instalments, and that penalty interest would apply to any outstanding amounts. The mother's application to change the child's surname was dismissed. The application to restrain the father from travelling with the child to non-Hague Convention countries was also dismissed. The court also made orders suspending the child's time with the father during specific periods of Passover and the Jewish New Year, commencing from 2017. The court also requested that the Australian Federal Police remove the child's name from the Airport Watch List.