Stevens and Stevens

This matter concerned an application by the mother, Ms Stevens, for permission to travel with her two young sons, R and N, to Peru for a holiday. The father, Mr Stevens, opposed the children travelling outside of Australia, expressing a strong belief that the mother posed a high risk of not returning the children to Australia. The application was heard by Hogan J in the Family Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether to grant the mother permission to remove the children from Australia for a holiday, despite the father's lack of consent and his concerns about the risk of the children being retained overseas. The court was required to consider the father's assertions regarding the mother's alleged risk of abduction and the effectiveness of international conventions in ensuring the children's return.

Hogan J granted the mother permission to travel with the children to Peru for a period not exceeding three weeks between 6 January 2016 and 27 January 2016. The court was not persuaded by the father's assertions that the Hague Convention was ineffective or that the maternal grandparents might prevent the children's return. Hogan J accepted the mother's explanations that she wished to support the children's relationship with their father and would not prevent them from maintaining that relationship. The court noted the mother's established ties to Australia, including her residency since 2004, citizenship obtained in 2009, employment since 2014, and her and the children's connections within their local community. The decision was made subject to strict conditions designed to ensure the children's return to Australia and to facilitate communication with the father.

The court made detailed interim orders, including specific dates for departure and return, requirements for the mother to provide travel itineraries and prepaid return air tickets to the father and the Australian Federal Police, and provisions for regular communication between the children and the father via telephone or Skype. The mother was also restrained from travelling to countries not signatory to the Hague Convention. The court further ordered that the children's names be retained on the Airport Watch List, and that the father was to cooperate in obtaining passports for the children, with a Registrar appointed to sign documents if the father failed to do so.