Simons and Faure

This matter concerned an application before Johnston J concerning the parenting arrangements for a child, C Simons-Faure, born in October 2005. The dispute involved the mother and the father of the child, who sought to establish orders regarding their parental responsibilities and the child's living arrangements.

The court was required to determine the extent of equal shared parental responsibility, where the child would live, the specific arrangements for the child spending time with each parent, and the practicalities of international travel and communication between the parents and the child. Further issues included the sharing of travel costs, the provision of information regarding the child's schooling and health, and the notification of changes in residential addresses. The court also considered the father's intention to appeal the orders.

Johnston J ordered that the parents have equal shared parental responsibility for the child, with the child to live with her mother. The mother was permitted to live with the child in the United States or any other agreed location. Detailed provisions were made for the child to spend time with her father, both in Australia and internationally, with specific arrangements varying depending on the child's age and school holiday periods. The court also ordered that the parents share equally in the air travel costs associated with the child's travel between Australia and the US, and that the child not travel unaccompanied until the age of eight. Provisions were also made for communication between the father and the child, and for the mother to provide the father with school and medical information. The court also ordered the removal of the child's details from the Australian Federal Police Watch List and made specific arrangements for the child's handover to the mother via her own mother. The court noted the father's intention to appeal the orders within 28 days. Until the handover, the child was to live with her father.