MACARIS & RADDACH

In the Family Court of Australia, Judge Bender presided over competing parenting applications filed by Macaris and Raddach concerning the time their two children, Y and X, would spend with their father. Both parents sought orders for equal shared parental responsibility. The mother proposed a consistent routine where the children would spend five nights per fortnight with the father, specifically from Thursday to Monday in week one and Thursday to Friday in week two. Conversely, the father sought orders for the children to spend time with him during his rostered days off, which followed a rolling four-day on, four-day off roster. The mother also sought consistent sharing of holiday time, while the father desired holiday time to align with his annual leave. A significant factor in the proceedings was the youngest child's diagnosis of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, necessitating a consistent routine.

The court was required to determine the most appropriate parenting arrangements for the children, balancing the parents' competing proposals for time spent with each parent, particularly during school terms and holidays. This involved considering the children's best interests, including the need for routine for the child with ADHD, and the practicalities of the father's rostered work schedule. The court also had to address the division of holiday time and establish mechanisms for communication and the exchange of information between the parents.

Judge Bender ultimately made orders for the parties to have equal shared parental responsibility for Y and X. The children were ordered to live with the father during his rostered days off, as per his rolling four-day on, four-day off roster, during school terms. For school holidays, the orders provided for a division of term holidays, a week-about arrangement for long summer holidays until the youngest child turned nine, and then a half-share arrangement thereafter. Specific provisions were also made for Christmas and each child's birthday. The children were to live with the mother at all other times, including specific arrangements for Mother's Day weekend. The orders also included provisions for telephone contact, changeover procedures, mandatory attendance at a parenting program, communication protocols via email, and injunctions restraining denigration of the other parent and involving the children in disputes.