Mooney and Mooney

In *Mooney and Mooney*, Guest J of the Family Court of Australia was required to determine urgent applications concerning the welfare of a child. The wife had filed an Initiating Application on 31 December 2007, seeking orders related to the child, born in March 2002. The husband was also subject to orders made by the court on the day of the judgment.

The central legal issue before the court was the immediate care and custody arrangements for the child, given the wife's application and the court's existing orders concerning the husband. The court needed to decide how to best ensure the child's welfare in light of these competing circumstances.

Guest J ordered that the husband was to deliver the child to the Child Minding Section of the Family Court of Australia at the Melbourne Registry by 9:30 am on 7 January 2008. The wife's Initiating Application was adjourned for hearing in the Judicial Duty List on the same day at 10:00 am. The wife was also ordered to serve a sealed copy of the court's orders on the husband forthwith.