State Central Authority and Detres

In the Family Court of Australia, Bennett J considered an ex-parte application by the State Central Authority concerning the whereabouts of a child, B, and the respondent mother, Ms Detres. The Authority sought orders to obtain information from various government agencies to locate the child and mother.

The court was required to determine whether to grant leave for the filing of an application for Commonwealth Information and Location Orders, and to make oral application for a location order directed to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Furthermore, the court had to consider the extent to which it could, pursuant to sections 67N and 67M of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), compel Medicare, the Australian Taxation Office, the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority, and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to provide information regarding the mother and child, including their whereabouts, driver's licence and passport details, and any school enrolment records for the child. The court also considered the disclosure of such information and the service of documents on the respondent mother.

Bennett J granted the State Central Authority leave to file its application and to make oral application for a location order. The court issued orders pursuant to sections 67N and 67M of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) directing Medicare, the Australian Taxation Office, the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority, and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to provide specified information to the Registrar of the Family Court. These orders were limited to searches conducted no more than once per month for a period of one year. Leave was also granted for the Registrar to disclose the obtained information to the applicant's solicitor, a process server, and relevant Central Authorities. The court further ordered that the applicant serve certain documents on the respondent mother and make enquiries of the Australian Federal Police regarding the child's departure from Australia. Leave was also granted to issue a subpoena to a hospital for personnel files relating to the mother. The matter was adjourned for further consideration.