Juni and Juni (No 2)

This matter concerned orders made by Watts J in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia regarding the parental responsibility and living arrangements for a child, Child A. The dispute involved the parents' differing views on significant aspects of the child's upbringing, including education, medical care, and religious beliefs, as well as issues of communication and relocation.

The court was required to determine the extent of each parent's parental responsibility, particularly concerning major decisions about the child's education and medical care. Further issues included the child's living arrangements, the nature and frequency of communication and time spent with each parent, and the geographical restrictions on the child's relocation. The court also had to address the parents' interactions with each other and with third parties in relation to the child, and the child's schooling and participation in protective behaviours programs.

Watts J made detailed orders aimed at establishing a framework for shared responsibility and communication, while also providing clarity on decision-making authority. The father was granted sole parental responsibility for the child, with day-to-day decisions to be made by the parent with care. However, the father was required to provide the mother with advance written notice of major decisions regarding education and medical care, and to consider her views. The child was ordered to live with the father, with specific provisions for time spent with and communication with the mother. Injunctions were issued restraining both parents from denigrating each other or the child's religious beliefs or extended family, and from allowing the child to be in the presence of third parties who engage in such denigration. The court also made orders concerning the child's schooling, enrolment in a protective behaviours course, and interstate travel notification.

The orders further stipulated that compliance with the parenting orders would be supervised by a family consultant for a period of 12 months, with liberty to apply regarding any matters arising from this supervision. The Independent Children's Lawyer was to be discharged upon the expiry of the supervision order. Finally, Justice Watts was appointed to manage any future applications related to the children, and the particulars of the orders and their consequences were to be set out in an attached Fact Sheet.