KADNI & KEERTHI

This matter concerned an application before Judge Harman concerning parenting arrangements for a child, [X], born in 2013. The dispute involved the mother, MS KADNI, and the father, MR KEERTHI.

The court was required to determine several key issues, including where the child would live, the allocation of parental responsibility, and crucially, the process for obtaining an Australian passport for the child. The court also addressed orders preventing the removal of the child from the Commonwealth of Australia and the implementation of airport watch procedures. Furthermore, the court noted that section 65Y of the *Family Law Act 1975* would continue to apply to any proposed overseas travel, requiring parental consent or a court order.

In its reasoning, the court ordered that the child, [X], shall live with her mother, MS KADNI. The court further directed both parties to cooperate in obtaining an Australian passport for the child within seven days. The allocation of parental responsibility was made conditional on the father's compliance with the passport application process; failure to comply would result in the father having sole parental responsibility for passport applications. The court also made orders restraining both parties from removing the child from Australia until her sixteenth birthday and requested the assistance of law enforcement agencies to enforce these orders, including placing the child's name on the Airport Watch List. The court dismissed all other parenting applications, noting that outstanding issues related to property adjustment, child support assessment, and lump sum child support. The court also set timelines for the filing of amended applications and affidavit material for trial, with provisions for dismissal or undefended hearing in the event of non-compliance. Finally, the court discharged the Independent Children's Lawyer and ordered reimbursement of certain legal fees to MS KADNI.