SONY & TEDJA

In the matter of *Sony & Tedja*, heard before Judge Bender, the father sought to set aside an Airport Watch List that prevented the removal of the parties' two children from Australia. The father's proposed overseas travel was intended to allow the children to spend time with their extended paternal family, including an aging paternal grandmother in a specified country. The mother, however, expressed concerns that the father might not return with the children to Australia.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the father's application to permit the children's travel overseas should be granted, specifically in light of the mother's apprehension regarding their return. This required the court to balance the benefits of the children spending time with their paternal relatives against the potential risk of them not being brought back to Australia.

Judge Bender dismissed the father's application, finding that the risk of the father not returning the children to Australia outweighed the benefit of them visiting their extended paternal family. The court did not make any order as to costs. Consequently, the father's Initiating Application filed on 3 June 2016 was dismissed, and the matter was removed from the pending cases list.