Moore & Shirley

In the matter of *Moore & Shirley*, heard by Hogan J, the mother sought to vary final parenting orders made in November 2018. These earlier orders had stipulated that the child live with the father and have supervised time with the mother. The mother's application sought orders for the child to live with her and spend supervised time with the father. The father, as a preliminary matter, requested the court determine the *Rice & Asplund* question.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the mother had established a sufficient change in circumstances to warrant a variation of the existing final parenting orders. This required the court to consider the threshold question of whether there had been a material change in the circumstances of the child since the making of the final orders.

Hogan J was not persuaded that the mother had demonstrated a sufficient change in circumstances to justify altering the existing arrangements. Consequently, the mother's Initiating Application was dismissed. The court also made orders regarding the process for any subsequent application for costs.