SLATER & SLATER

In the matter of SLATER & SLATER, Her Honour Judge C. E. Kirton QC of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia considered interim parenting orders concerning a child born in 2015. The dispute involved the father's application to vary existing consent orders, specifically regarding the time the child would spend with each parent and the location of changeovers. The court was tasked with determining whether the existing arrangements, or proposed modifications, were in the best interests of the child.

The central legal issues before the court were whether it was in the child's best interests to spend equal time with both parents, and whether it was in the child's best interests to spend substantial and significant time with both parents. The court also had to consider the appropriate arrangements for the child's time with the father, including the frequency and duration of contact, and the location for changeovers between parents.

Her Honour determined that, based on the evidence before her, it was not in the child's best interests to spend equal time with both parents, nor was it in the child's best interests to spend substantial and significant time with both parents. The court applied the principles of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), focusing on the paramount consideration of the child's best interests. The court made interim orders discharging previous consent orders and establishing a new schedule for the child to spend time with the father, including specific days and alternating weeks. Furthermore, the court ordered that changeovers, unless occurring at childcare, must take place at a designated police station. The father was also granted liberty to communicate with the child via video calls on a specified day each week, with provisions for privacy and facilitation by the mother.