Kennedy and Kennedy

This matter concerned parenting orders for a child, X, born in 2007, between the mother and the father. The proceedings were before McClelland J.

The court was required to determine the terms of parenting orders, including the allocation of parental responsibility, the child's living arrangements, the time the child would spend with each parent, arrangements for changeovers, telephone communication, medical treatment, and miscellaneous provisions concerning the child's schooling, activities, name, and the conduct of the parents towards each other in the child's presence.

By consent, the court discharged all previous parenting orders. The mother was granted sole parental responsibility for the child, subject to specific requirements for consultation with the father on major long-term issues. The child was ordered to live with the mother, with detailed provisions outlining the time the child would spend with the father during school terms, school holidays, and specific public holidays, including arrangements for Father's Day and Mother's Day. The orders also stipulated specific arrangements for changeovers, telephone communication between the child and parents, and medical treatment, including the child's general practitioner and paediatrician. Injunctions were granted restraining both parents from denigrating each other in the child's presence.

The court ordered that each parent pay half of the costs of the Independent Children's Lawyer, totalling $7,691.50 for each party, to Legal Aid NSW within six months.