Kendle and Beamish

The case of *Kendle and Beamish* concerned an application to vary existing orders regarding the living arrangements of a child. The dispute brought before Johns J involved the husband and wife, who were seeking to alter the terms of a parenting order previously made by Senior Registrar Fitzgibbon on 6 April 2016.

The primary legal issue before the court was how to best determine the living arrangements and communication schedule for the child, B, born in 2013, between the husband and wife. This involved establishing a detailed two-week cycle for the child's residence with each parent, including specific times for physical contact and provisions for communication via Skype. The court also had to consider the practicalities of changeovers between the parents, including the method and location of these transitions.

Johns J varied the previous orders to implement a specific two-week cycle for the child to live and communicate with both the husband and wife. This included detailed provisions for the husband's time with the child in each week, incorporating specific days and times, as well as scheduled Skype communication. The wife was to have the child at all other times, subject to the specific Skype arrangements. The court also made orders regarding the equal sharing of changeovers, specifying that these would occur between their respective homes if not at day care. Further, specific instructions were given for Friday changeovers, with the wife to collect the child from day care or the husband's home, and provisions for the husband to collect the child in certain circumstances. The husband's application in a case filed on 8 April 2016 was otherwise dismissed.