Jantic and Soula

This case concerned parenting orders for two children, B and C. The dispute between the parents, the mother and the father, led to an application before Johns J in the Family Court of Australia. The court was required to determine the future living arrangements and time spent between the children and each parent, as well as the allocation of parental responsibility for long-term decision-making.

The court was tasked with determining the best interests of the children in light of the parents' differing proposals for their care. The father initially sought orders for the children to live with him and for a gradual increase in the mother's time with them, ultimately aiming for equal shared care. However, his position evolved during the proceedings to seeking gradually increasing periods of time with the children, culminating in an equal time arrangement. The mother challenged the father's capacity to care for the children on a shared care basis, citing his work commitments and accommodation arrangements.

Johns J considered the father's evidence regarding his full-time contract work, which involved regular weekday hours and the potential need for before or after school care for the children. The court also noted the father's concession that his initial proposal for the children to live with him was an "ambit claim" to facilitate an equal shared care arrangement. The mother was found to be the primary carer and responsible for the children's support through her full-time employment. The court ultimately made orders discharging previous parenting orders and granting the mother sole parental responsibility for long-term decisions, with specific procedural requirements for the father to be informed and consulted. The children were ordered to live with the mother, and detailed provisions were made for the father's time with the children, including a requirement for him to complete a Parenting Orders Program before certain time arrangements would commence. The court also made orders regarding communication, the father's mental health treatment, and injunctions preventing certain behaviours in the presence of the children.