Sheffield and Tomlin

This matter concerned an application before Judge Harland in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, involving the father and mother of three children, X, Y, and Z. The dispute centred on the living arrangements and time spent with the children.

The court was required to determine the primary residence of the children and to make orders regarding their time with each parent, including specific arrangements for handovers and the location of contact. The court also considered the role of the Independent Children's Lawyer in facilitating these arrangements and ensuring the children understood the court's orders.

Judge Harland ordered that the children live with the father. The mother was restrained from allowing the children to attend her home. The children were to spend time with the mother at the maternal grandparents' home on alternate weekends and every Tuesday night. Handovers were to occur at the maternal grandparents' house, unless at the children's schools. The father was ordered to produce the children to the court for the Independent Children's Lawyer to explain the orders. The court also noted that particulars of obligations and consequences of contravention were set out in an attachment to the orders, pursuant to sections 65DA(2) and 62B of the *Family Law Act 1975*.