JEB & SJL

The Full Court of the Family Court of Australia, comprising Kay, Holden, and Warnick JJ, considered an appeal concerning parenting orders made in the Federal Circuit Court. The dispute involved the arrangements for two children, JEB and SJL, with the primary issue being the father's application to relocate with the children to Queensland. The mother opposed this relocation, seeking orders for the children to remain living with her in New South Wales.

The central legal question before the Full Court was whether the primary judge erred in finding that the father had discharged his onus to establish that the proposed relocation was in the best interests of the children. This involved an assessment of whether the primary judge had given sufficient weight to the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility and the presumption that children should spend substantial and significant time with each parent, as stipulated by the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). The court also considered whether the primary judge had adequately considered the potential impact of the relocation on the children's relationship with their mother and their broader family and community connections.

The Full Court found that the primary judge had failed to properly apply the principles of the *Family Law Act* in assessing the best interests of the children. Specifically, the court held that the primary judge had placed undue emphasis on the father's desire to relocate and had not sufficiently explored alternative arrangements that would allow the children to maintain meaningful relationships with both parents. The court reiterated that the paramount consideration in all parenting matters is the best interests of the child, which requires a holistic assessment of all relevant factors, including the child's right to know and be cared for by both parents.

The Full Court allowed the appeal, set aside the parenting orders made by the Federal Circuit Court, and remitted the matter back to the Federal Circuit Court for redetermination.