Portus and Storey

This matter concerned parenting orders made by Judge Scarlett in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. The dispute involved the Applicant Mother and the Respondent Father regarding the care arrangements for their two children, born in 2006 and 2011.

The court was required to determine the specific time the children would spend with the Respondent Father, establish arrangements for joint decision-making on long-term issues affecting the children, and outline the day-to-day responsibilities of each parent. Further issues included authorising international travel for the children with the Applicant Mother, specifying contact arrangements during that travel, and setting out future parenting arrangements upon the children's return to Australia, including holiday and birthday time. The court also needed to address communication protocols between parents and children, notification of illness or injury, and restrictions on parental criticism.

By consent, the court discharged all earlier parenting orders. It made detailed orders for the children to spend time with the Respondent Father until 28 December 2013, and then established a regime of equal shared parental responsibility for major long-term decisions, while granting sole responsibility for day-to-day matters to the parent with whom the children were residing. The Applicant Mother was permitted to travel internationally with the children to Germany and Belgium between 29 December 2013 and 24 January 2014, with specific provisions for the Respondent Father to spend time with the children during this period and for telephone communication between the children and the non-resident parent. Upon their return to Australia on 24 January 2014, the court ordered a schedule for the children to spend time with the Father, including alternate weekends, mid-week time, and periods during school holidays, with further provisions for birthdays and public holidays. The orders also included daily telephone communication for each parent when the children were not in their care, and a mutual restraint on criticising or denigrating the other parent in the children's presence.