State Central Authority: Commissioner of Police, South Australia and Philbrook

The State Central Authority, Commissioner of Police, South Australia, applied to the Family Court of Australia seeking to enforce existing access orders made in France in 2005 concerning a 15-year-old child. The child resided in Australia with her mother, the respondent, Ms Philbrook, while the father lived in France. The application sought orders for the child to spend time with her father in France, consistent with the French court's 2005 orders.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether to enforce the French access orders and, in doing so, to consider the best interests of the child. The Court was required to determine the appropriate application of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and related regulations in the context of enforcing access rights for a child who was no longer a minor under the Convention's typical application. The Court also had to consider the mother's counter-arguments regarding the father's alleged past conduct and her financial inability to comply with the existing arrangements.

The Court dismissed the application for access, finding that the child, being 15 years old at the time of the application, was no longer a "child" for the purposes of the Hague Convention. The Court reasoned that while the Convention aims to protect children and facilitate their return to their habitual residence, its primary purpose is not to enforce access rights for children who have reached an age where they can make their own decisions. Furthermore, the Court noted that the French orders were made in 2005, and significant time had passed, during which the child had been living in Australia with her mother. The Court also considered the evidence presented regarding the father's alleged behaviour towards the children and the mother's financial circumstances, which weighed against enforcing the existing access orders. The Court ultimately concluded that it was not in the child's best interests to enforce the French access orders.