State Central Authority & Handbury

The parties before the court were the State Central Authority, acting on behalf of the father, and the mother. The dispute concerned the mother's application to retain her child, Z, in Australia following a prior return order made under the Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations 1986 (Cth). This application was brought after the mother's appeal against the return order was dismissed by the appeal division of the Family Court of Australia.

The court was required to determine whether to grant the mother's application, which sought, on an interim basis, to allow Z to remain in Australia while the mother prosecuted her relocation application in the United Kingdom. The mother also sought that social science evidence be obtained from a private report writer in Melbourne, rather than through Cafcass in the United Kingdom, which would necessitate Z's return to England. The applicant State Central Authority and the father opposed the mother's application.

Bennett J dismissed the mother's application. The court reasoned that granting the application would subvert the intention of the 1980 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction by potentially leading to further delays. The mother's previous attempts to retain Z in Australia had been unsuccessful, with a return order being made and subsequently upheld on appeal. The current application was seen as a further attempt to delay the inevitable return of the child to England. The Independent Children's Lawyer took a neutral stance on the matter.