Searle and Swain

This matter concerned an application by Mr Searle and Ms Swain regarding their child, X. The court was required to determine orders concerning parental responsibility, the child's living arrangements, and the time the child would spend with each parent.

The court was asked to determine the appropriate orders for equal shared parental responsibility, the primary residence of the child, and the specific arrangements for the child's time with each parent, including provisions for school holidays, birthdays, and communication. The court also considered provisions for the suspension of the father's time with the child on specific occasions, changeover arrangements, the exchange of school-related information, parental attendance at child-related activities, notification of contact details, and the notification of medical conditions or emergencies. Furthermore, the court addressed the issue of preventing denigration of one parent in the presence or hearing of the child.

The court ordered that previous orders made in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia be discharged. It was ordered that the parents have equal shared parental responsibility for the child. The child was to live with the mother, and spend time with the father according to a detailed schedule that varied depending on whether the child had commenced school, and included specific provisions for weekends, weekdays, school holidays, Christmas, and birthdays. The father's time with the child was to be suspended on certain days around Christmas and the child's birthday, and on Mother's Day weekend. The orders also stipulated communication arrangements, changeover procedures, the exchange of school reports, parental involvement in school activities, notification of contact details, and the requirement to notify the other parent of medical conditions or emergencies. Finally, each parent was restrained from denigrating the other in the presence or hearing of the child.