Starkey and Starkey (No 2)

In Starkey and Starkey (No 2), Justice Dawe of the Family Court of Australia considered final parenting orders concerning two children, J and U. The dispute involved the mother's application to relocate the children's primary residence interstate and the father's opposition to this move, as well as the broader question of the children's living arrangements and their relationship with their father.

The court was required to determine the best interests of the children in light of the proposed relocation and the existing family dynamics. Specifically, the court had to decide whether the children should live with the mother, whether the mother should be permitted to relocate their primary residence to Town M in Victoria, and the nature and extent of the father's future involvement in the children's lives. The court also considered the need for ongoing counselling for the children and the father's access to information regarding their schooling and well-being.

Justice Dawe applied the paramount consideration of the children's best interests in making his orders. The reasoning led to orders discharging previous parenting and injunction orders, granting the mother sole parental responsibility, and ordering that the children live with her. The mother was permitted to relocate the children to Town M, Victoria. Further orders established a framework for the children's future relationship with their father, including mandatory counselling upon the younger child turning 12, provisions for communication through letters and gifts, and the father's liberty to obtain school reports. An injunction was also granted restraining the father from attending within one kilometre of the children's school or the mother's residence without her consent.