Makra and El Obom

The parties in this matter were the mother and the father of a child born in August 2005. The dispute concerned the mother's application to permit the child to travel outside the Commonwealth of Australia without the father's consent. The decision was made by Guest J in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether to grant the mother leave to abridge time for her application and to dispense with service on the father, thereby allowing the child to travel internationally without the father's consent. The court was also required to determine the ultimate outcome of the mother's Initiating Application.

Guest J granted the mother leave to abridge all times to enable her Initiating Application to be heard. The court further ordered that service of the application upon the father be dispensed with and that the application proceed without notice. Crucially, the court permitted the child to travel outside the Commonwealth of Australia notwithstanding that the father's consent had not been obtained, and requested the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to issue a passport for the child. Despite these orders, the Initiating Application of the mother was otherwise dismissed.