MANKUS & MATULIS

In *Mankus & Matulis*, the Family Court of Australia was asked to determine the appropriate forum for parenting proceedings concerning three children. The mother had removed the children from Country E to Australia, where both parents held permanent residency and some of the children were citizens. The mother expressed an intention not to return to Country E, citing a long-held plan for the family's relocation and the father's prior support for one child's permanent residency in Australia.

The central legal issues before the court were whether Australia was the appropriate forum for the determination of parenting orders, and whether the father should be restrained from pursuing parenting proceedings in Country E. The court was required to consider the best interests of the children, including the existence of a meaningful relationship with both parents, the practical difficulties and expense of litigating in multiple jurisdictions, and any changes in circumstances since the children's relocation.

Justice Hannam determined that the Family Court of Australia was the appropriate forum for the final parenting orders. The court reasoned that the children's permanent residency and citizenship in Australia, coupled with the mother's firm intention not to return to Country E, weighed heavily in favour of Australian jurisdiction. The practical difficulties and expense of litigating in Country E, and the potential disruption to the children's lives, were also significant considerations.

Accordingly, the court ordered that the forum for the application for final orders filed on 24 November 2014 was the Family Court of Australia. Furthermore, the father was restrained from continuing with or prosecuting any application in relation to parenting orders concerning the children in the Family Division of the High Court of Country E.