Tournier and Oxley

This matter concerned parenting orders made by Johns J in the Family Court of Australia. The proceedings involved the mother and the father of two children, X and Y, born in 2007 and 2009 respectively. The dispute centred on the living arrangements for the children and the allocation of parental responsibility for decision-making concerning their care, welfare, and development. The court also considered the father's access to information about the children and the facilitation of communication between the father and the children.

The court was required to determine the primary caregiver for the children and the extent of parental responsibility each parent would hold. Specifically, the court needed to decide where the children would live, who would have sole parental responsibility for long-term decisions, and the process for the father to be informed of and provide input on significant decisions regarding the children's health, education, religion, name changes, and living arrangements. Further issues included the father's ability to obtain school reports and photographs, the facilitation of communication between the father and children, and the removal of the children from an Airport Watch List.

Johns J ordered that the children live with the mother and that she have sole parental responsibility for long-term decisions regarding their care, welfare, and development. The court established a detailed process for the mother to provide the father with written notice of proposed decisions and for the father to offer his views before the mother implements them, with specific timeframes for notification and response. The father was granted liberty to obtain school reports and photographs at his own cost, and the mother was directed to reasonably facilitate communication between the father and the children if the children expressed a wish to communicate. The court also ordered the discharge of a Watch List Order and requested the removal of the children's names from the Airport Watch List, with specific directions for notification to relevant authorities. The mother was permitted to take the children on overseas holidays subject to providing the father with advance written notice and travel details. All previous parenting orders were discharged.