Vogel & Franks

In *Vogel & Franks*, Ms Vogel (the applicant mother) sought to discharge final parenting orders made in July 2013 concerning the parties' child, B. The original orders provided for equal shared parental responsibility, required the mother to pay a $200,000 bond for overseas travel with B, and stipulated that B's passport be held by the Court. Mr Franks (the respondent father) opposed the application. The matter came before Henderson J.

The court was required to determine whether to discharge the existing parenting orders, specifically those relating to equal shared parental responsibility, the overseas travel bond, and the holding of the child's passport. The court also considered the impact of the child's age (16 years) and his expressed wishes regarding time with his father, as well as the mother's history of international travel with the child, including past instances of absconding which led to Hague Convention proceedings.

Henderson J reasoned that while the mother's past conduct in absconding with the child had traumatised the father and child, the child, now 16, presented as a mature and resilient adolescent, with any trauma appearing to have resolved. The court noted that the father remained traumatised and lacked trust in the mother, attributing the mother's compliance with travel orders to the bond requirement. However, the evidence did not support the father's assertion that the mother had "poisoned" the child against him. Instead, the court found that the father had not listened to his son, as evidenced by the child's diagnosis of oppositional defiance disorder and the father's perception of the child's behaviour and the mother's parenting. Consequently, the court decided not to alter the orders for equal shared parental responsibility.

The court ordered the discharge of the requirement for the mother to pay the $200,000 bond for overseas travel. The court also ordered that B's passports be released to the mother and that she hold them when not in use. The father was permitted to travel internationally with B, subject to providing the mother with specified information at least 14 days prior to departure, and the mother was to release the passports to him seven days prior to departure, with him to return them upon their return.