Kelko and Moti

In the matter of *Kelko and Moti*, Brown J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered a dispute between Mr Kelko and Ms Moti concerning their son. The proceedings were initiated by an application filed on 7 August 2008, and the court was required to determine the parental responsibilities and the circumstances surrounding the child's departure from Australia.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the parties shared parental responsibility for the child, whether any court order had conferred sole parental responsibility on the mother, and whether the mother was permitted to remove the child from Australia without the father's consent or a court order. The court also had to consider the fact that the child had been taken from Australia by the mother in July 2008 without the father's consent or a court order.

Brown J applied the provisions of section 61C(1) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) to determine that the parties shared parental responsibility for the child. The court found that no Australian court exercising jurisdiction under the *Family Law Act 1975* had made an order conferring sole parental responsibility on the mother, nor had any order been made that would permit the mother to remove the child from the Commonwealth of Australia without the father's consent, which had not been given. The court noted that the child had indeed been taken from Australia by the mother in July 2008 without the father's consent or a court order.

Consequently, the court declared that Mr Kelko and Ms Moti have shared parental responsibility for their son. It further declared that no Australian court had made an order conferring sole parental responsibility on the mother or allowing her to remove the child from Australia without the father's consent. The court also declared that the child was taken from Australia by the mother in July 2008 without the father's consent or a court order. The court requested that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade provide the father with details of the child's Australian passport and a copy of the mother's departure card. The application filed on 7 August 2008 was otherwise dismissed.