MCKENZIE & ABBOTT

In the matter of *McKenzie & Abbott*, Judge Curtain of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia made orders concerning the parenting of a child, X. The proceedings involved the Mother and the Father, who was remanded in custody and did not attend court. The dispute centred on the future parenting arrangements for X, with the Mother seeking sole parental responsibility.

The court was required to determine the appropriate parenting orders for X, considering the circumstances including the Father's incarceration and the Mother's application for sole parental responsibility. The court also had to consider the potential inconsistency of the proposed parenting orders with any family violence orders, as well as the method of service of the orders and reasons upon the Father.

Judge Curtain discharged all previous parenting orders and made new orders granting the Mother sole parental responsibility for X. These orders stipulated that X was to live with the Mother, and the Mother was to inform the Father by email of any long-term decisions regarding X's schooling and health. The Father was to have supervised telephone contact with X on alternate Wednesday evenings, with the Mother at liberty to monitor the calls and terminate them in certain circumstances. The court also noted that the Father was remanded in custody and did not attend court, and that the Mother's proposed orders were placed on the court file as Exhibit "A". The court further declared that the contact and living arrangements might be inconsistent with any family violence order, and that particulars of obligations and consequences for contravention were set out in Annexure A.