Palma and Murphey and Anor

In *Palma and Murphey and Anor*, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia considered a dispute concerning the parental responsibility and living arrangements for a child. The father sought sole parental responsibility and orders for the child to live with him, while also seeking to restrain the mother from spending time with, communicating with, or approaching the child. The father also sought to be authorised to remove the child from Australia for travel purposes, and for the mother to be restrained from doing so.

The court was required to determine the best interests of the child in relation to parental responsibility, living arrangements, and communication. Specifically, the court had to consider whether to grant sole parental responsibility to the father, whether the child should live with the father, and the extent to which the mother should be restricted from contact with the child. Furthermore, the court had to determine the father's entitlement to remove the child from Australia for travel and the mother's entitlement to do so.

Hannam J applied the principles of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), particularly sections concerning parental responsibility, child protection, and travel documents. The court ordered that the father have sole parental responsibility for the child and that the child live with the father. Crucially, the mother was restrained from spending time with, attempting to spend time with, communicating with, or attempting to communicate with the child. This restraint extended to approaching the child or attending within 100 metres of the child's residence, place of employment, or educational institution, with a power of arrest attached to this order. The father was authorised to remove the child from Australia for travel, while the mother was not. The child was permitted to have an Australian travel document and travel internationally, and the father could apply for a passport for the child without the mother's consent. All previous orders, except those from 24 November 2015, were discharged, and all other applications were dismissed.