RECKARD & CHADWICK

This matter concerned an interim hearing in family law proceedings between the parents of two children, X (born 2004) and Y (born 2008). The dispute involved issues of parental responsibility, the children's residence, and the potential for a coercive relocation order, with the court also considering the impact of border closures.

The court was required to determine the interim parenting arrangements for the children, specifically addressing the question of equal shared parental responsibility, where the children would live, and the conditions under which the mother might relocate with the children. Further issues included the father's drug and alcohol consumption, and the practicalities of the mother's potential relocation, including financial assistance for a rental bond. The court also needed to consider the necessity of a family report to inform its decision-making.

Judge Dunkley ordered that the parents have equal shared parental responsibility for the children. The children were to live with their mother, provided she relocated within a 30km radius of the Town B Post Office within 21 days. If she failed to do so, the children were to live with their father until she complied. The court also made detailed orders regarding the father's time with the children upon the mother's relocation, and imposed conditions on his alcohol consumption and required him to undergo drug testing. A family report was ordered to address various aspects of the children's welfare, relationships, and the parents' capacities, with the report to be completed for a further directions hearing.