Jakes and Perin

In the matter of Jakes and Perin, heard before Baumann J, the dispute concerned the living arrangements and parental responsibility for a child, X, born in 2013. The orders made by the court addressed significant aspects of the child's life, including where the child would reside, the allocation of parental responsibility for major long-term decisions, and crucially, the ability of the mother to obtain and hold travel documents for the child.

The court was required to determine the appropriate living arrangements for the child, the extent of parental responsibility to be vested in each parent, and the specific powers relating to the child's international travel, including the application for and holding of passports and visas. Furthermore, the court had to consider the nature and extent of any contact or communication between the child and the father.

Baumann J ordered that the child live with the mother and that the mother have sole parental responsibility for all major long-term decisions concerning the child. This included granting the mother sole parental responsibility for the purposes of Section 11 of the Australian Passports Act 2005, permitting her to solely apply for, sign, and renew any Australian travel document for the child, including passports and visas, without the father's consent. The mother was also ordered to hold any such documents. Significantly, the court ordered that the child spend no time and have no communication with the father. The Independent Children’s Lawyer was discharged.