LANKA & DEV

This matter concerned an application by the mother for permission to relocate with the child to India, a country from which the child had been removed in December 2017 without the mother's knowledge or consent. The father asserted that circumstances justified this removal. The court was asked to consider whether the maternal grandparents had facilitated the child's removal from India. The child had resided in Australia with the father since December 2017 and was reportedly well-settled. The mother had not had face-to-face contact with the child between December 2017 and September 2019, with periods of no contact occurring. The court also considered the child's relationship with a half-sibling and the mother's allegations that the lack of consent from the half-sibling's father had restricted her travel to Australia. The mother had not provided expert immigration evidence regarding her capacity to remain in Australia. The court was required to determine whether the child should be permitted to travel to India in the future, including an assessment of the mother's ability to foster a relationship between the father and the child, the impact of COVID-19 on future travel between Australia and India, and the complexities of parental responsibility when parents reside in different countries with limited communication.

Williams J determined that the mother should be restrained from removing the child from Australia and that the Australian Federal Police should place the child's name on the Family Law Airport Watch List. The father was granted sole parental responsibility for the child, with the obligation to notify the mother via email of any decisions within seven days. The child was ordered to live with the father in Australia and to communicate with the mother via FaceTime or other electronic means each Tuesday and Sunday for a period not exceeding 30 minutes on each occasion. The parties were enjoined from discussing the proceedings with the child, questioning the child about parenting arrangements, using the child to communicate messages, or denigrating the other parent. Communication between the parties regarding the child was to occur via Our Family Wizard. The orders also detailed specific arrangements for the mother's time with the child while she remained in Australia, including during school terms, school holidays, on the child's birthday, and for religious festivals. The mother's time with the child was suspended during specific periods, including Easter and Christmas. If the mother were to live outside Australia, the child was to spend time with her in Australia on at least three occasions each year for at least seven days each, subject to specific notice and logistical requirements, including the father booking and paying for accommodation for the mother in the local vicinity when the child was in Australia. The parties were also required to keep each other informed of their residential addresses and contact details, and to notify each other of any serious illness or injury to the child, and to authorise each other to liaise with medical practitioners and schools.