Steel and Wei

[2007] FamCA 1303

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

STEEL & WEI [2007] FamCA 1303

FAMILY LAW – CHILDREN – Application to travel overseas with child

Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)

APPLICANT: Mr Steel

RESPONDENT: Ms Wei

FILE NUMBER: MLC 9715 of 2007

DATE DELIVERED: 18 October 2007

PLACE DELIVERED: Melbourne

JUDGMENT OF: Brown J

HEARING DATE: 18 October, 2007

REPRESENTATION

SOLICITOR FOR THE APPLICANT: In person

SOLICITOR FOR THE RESPONDENT: In person

Orders

1. That the husband be permitted to take the child L born … January, 1993 outside the Commonwealth of Australia from 9 December, 2007 (“the departure date”) to 3 January, 2008 (“the return date”) for the purpose of travel to New York.

2. That the registrar of the Melbourne registry of the Family Court of Australia release L’s passport to the husband seven (7) prior to the departure date and the husband return such passport to the registrar within seven (7) days after the return date.

3. That the husband do all things reasonably necessary to ensure that L telephones the wife upon arrival in New York and upon L’s arrival in Australia.

4. The court noting that an itinerary for L has been provided as Annexure A to the form 2 application filed by the husband on 30 August, 2007, the husband provide the wife with accommodation details as soon as reasonably practicable after booking.  

5. That the court send a sealed copy of this order to the wife at B, being the address provided by her in a letter faxed by her to the court on 17 October, 2007. 

6. That the husband serve a sealed copy of this order on the Australian Federal Police, as soon as practicable. 

7. That the reasons for judgment this day be transcribed and that copies be made available to the parties, the wife’s copy to be sent to her at the address contained in paragraph (5) hereof. 

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment under the pseudonym Steel & Wei is approved pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT MELBOURNE

FILE NUMBER: MLC 9715 of 2007

MR STEEL  

Applicant

And

MS WEI

Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. The parties separated many years ago.  They have two daughters, S, born in October 1991 and L, born in January 1993.  There have been proceedings in this court and, as I understand the file, also in the Federal Magistrates' Court.  On 1 March 2000, final parenting orders were made, by consent, pursuant to which the children were to live with the husband and have reasonable contact with the wife, defined to include certain periods.  Since that time the children have lived with the husband; he lives in Victoria, the wife lives in New South Wales. 

2. In terms of summer school holiday contact, the orders provided for the mother to have contact with S and L for one half of each Christmas school holiday period, being the second half in the 2001/2002 period and each alternate year thereafter, and the first half in the other years.

3. This year, the mother's contact will fall in the second half of the school holiday period.  The children's passports are held by the court.  The husband has applied a number of times to take the girls overseas, and orders have allowed that to occur.  They went to Hong Kong in July 2001 and to Thailand later that year; to Malaysia and Vietnam in 2003 and to the United States later that year; to Thailand and Malaysia in 2005; and to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in early 2006.

4. The husband seeks to take L with him on a trip to New York and China, during the first half of the coming Christmas school holidays.  His evidence is that S, who is nearly 16, does not want to travel with him and her sister this time and would prefer to spend the holiday either with her mother or with her grandparents.  Arrangements can obviously be made for that, having regard to her age.

5. The husband sought these orders in a form 2, filed on 30 August 2007.  I can be comfortable in finding it has been served on the wife because yesterday she faxed a letter to this registry, confirming that the girls live with their father and that all orders for overseas travel to date have been made by consent.  In that letter she asserted that S will be staying with her from the end of her 2007 school year until the start of the school year in 2008.

6. I make it clear that the court makes no such order.  The existing orders provide for the mother to have contact with S for the second half of the 2007/2008 school holiday period.  If the father and S think it is a good idea, S can of course spend the whole holiday period with her mother.  It is a matter for the father and S what arrangements they make in respect of the first half of that period. 

7. The evidence before the court satisfies me that the father has taken the children away a number of times, with the mother’s consent.  He has brought them back.  He has a business here in Australia.  He is domiciled here and, in my view, there is no reason he should not take his younger daughter away this summer as proposed.

I certify that the preceding 7 paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for judgment herein of the Honourable Justice Brown AM.

Associate

18 October 2007