FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA
(DIVISION 2)
Petran & Petran [2024] FedCFamC2F 996
File number: MLC 5732 of 2024 Judgment of: JUDGE SYMONS Date of judgment: 29 July 2024 Catchwords: FAMILY LAW – Parenting – international travel – where mother seeks that she be able to take children to Country B to visit maternal grandmother – where father opposes the application due to fear of abscondment and travel advice for Country B – where father opposes travel on the basis of impact on schooling and health concerns – where mother has demonstrated ties to Australia – Where Country B is a Hague Convention country – where overseas travel is in the children’s best interests – unacceptable risk not established – application allowed Legislation: Australian Passports Act 2005 (Cth), s 11.
Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), ss 60CA, 60CC, 60CG, 64B, 65D, 106A
Cases cited: Kuebler and Kuebler [1978] FamCA 26; (1978) FLC 90-434;
Line and Line [1996] 21 Fam LR 259; (1997) FLC 92-729.
Division: Division 2 Family Law Number of paragraphs: 80 Date of last submissions: 26 July 2024 Date of hearing: 26 July 2024 Place: Melbourne Counsel for the Applicant Mr L Fudim Solicitor for the Applicant G & M Lawyers Counsel for the Respondent Mr M Rohani Solicitor for the Respondent Juno Family Law ORDERS
MLC 5732 of 2024 FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA (DIVISION 2)
BETWEEN: MS PETRAN
Applicant
AND: MR PETRAN
Respondent
ORDER MADE BY:
JUDGE SYMONS
DATE OF ORDER:
29 JULY 2024
THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
1.The applicant mother is permitted to travel to Country B with the parties’ children X born in 2013, Y born in 2017 and Z born in 2019 (collectively referred to as the children) for a period of up to 28 days and on the following conditions:
(a)The mother provides a flight itinerary including copies of return airfare tickets to the father at least 14 days prior to her intended date of departure;
(b)The mother provides an address, contact phone number and details of accommodation throughout the period of travel to the father at least 14 days prior to her intended date of departure;
(c)The mother provides details of travel insurance for the entire period of travel to the father; and
(d)The mother provides confirmation that she will not travel to any area within Country B designated as advice “level 3” or higher on the SmartTraveller website maintained by the Australian government.
2.Pursuant to section 11 of the Australian Passports Act 2005 (Cth), the mother is authorised to apply for and receive Australian Passports for the children to enable them to travel outside of the Commonwealth of Australia.
3.For the purposes of order 2, the mother is permitted to provide a copy of these orders to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
4.In the event that the father refuses or fails to complete or sign any relevant document required to give effect to order 2 within 7 days of a request to…
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CaseChat Overview and Summary
The court was required to determine whether the proposed travel was in the children’s best interests and whether the mother could be trusted to return to Australia. The court examined the mother’s ties to Australia, the children’s ties to Country B through their maternal grandmother, and the father’s concerns. The court also considered the potential benefits of the trip, including the opportunity for the children to visit their maternal grandmother and the potential educational and cultural benefits of the travel.
The court found that the mother had established sufficient ties to Australia and that the risk of abscondment was not sufficiently high to prevent the travel. The court also determined that the travel was in the children’s best interests, taking into account the benefits of the visit to the maternal grandmother and the overall educational and cultural advantages. The father’s concerns about schooling and health were not deemed sufficient to outweigh these benefits. Given that Country B is a signatory to the Hague Convention, the court was reassured that the children’s return to Australia would be facilitated.
The court granted the application with conditions to ensure the children’s safety and return to Australia. These conditions included the provision of detailed travel plans and insurance information to the father and restrictions on travel to high-risk areas within Country B. The court also authorised the mother to apply for passports for the children to facilitate their travel and authorised the mother to sign necessary documents on the father’s behalf if he failed to do so within seven days of a request.
Orders
Orders of the court
MLC 5732 of 2024
FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA (DIVISION 2)
BETWEEN:
MS PETRAN
Applicant
AND:
MR PETRAN
Respondent
ORDER MADE BY:
JUDGE SYMONS
DATE OF ORDER:
29 JULY 2024
THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
1. The applicant mother is permitted to travel to Country B with the parties’ children X born in 2013, Y born in 2017 and Z born in 2019 (collectively referred to as the children) for a period of up to 28 days and on the following conditions:
(a) The mother provides a flight itinerary including copies of return airfare tickets to the father at least 14 days prior to her intended date of departure;
(b) The mother provides an address, contact phone number and details of accommodation throughout the period of travel to the father at least 14 days prior to her intended date of departure;
(c) The mother provides details of travel insurance for the entire period of travel to the father; and
(d) The mother provides confirmation that she will not travel to any area within Country B designated as advice “level 3” or higher on the SmartTraveller website maintained by the Australian government.
2. Pursuant to section 11 of the Australian Passports Act 2005 (Cth), the mother is authorised to apply for and receive Australian Passports for the children to enable them to travel outside of the Commonwealth of Australia.
3. For the purposes of order 2, the mother is permitted to provide a copy of these orders to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
4. In the event that the father refuses or fails to complete or sign any relevant document required to give effect to order 2 within 7 days of a request to do so, the mother be appointed pursuant to s 106A of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) to sign the documents on the father’s behalf as may be necessary to facilitate the children obtaining Australian passports.
Note: The form of the order is subject to the entry in the Court’s records.
Note: This copy of the Court’s Reasons for judgment may be subject to review to remedy minor typographical or grammatical errors (r 10.14(b) Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth)), or to record a variation to the order pursuant to r 10.13 Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth).
Part XIVB of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) makes it an offence, except in very limited circumstances, to publish an account of proceedings that identify persons, associated persons, or witnesses involved in family law proceedings.
Background
Background to the litigation
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Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
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Decision
Reasons for decision
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Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
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