Vong and Peng

In the matter of *Vong and Peng*, heard before Judge McNab, the dispute concerned parental responsibility and the legal parentage of two children. The Applicant Mother sought orders for sole parental responsibility and for the children to reside with her. A significant aspect of the proceedings involved the determination of the legal father of the children for the purposes of Commonwealth law.

The court was required to determine who should have sole parental responsibility for the children, where the children should live, and to formally declare the legal father of the children under the *Family Law Act 1975*. The Applicant Mother also sought liberty to provide the court's orders to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, indicating a potential international element to the matter.

Judge McNab ordered that the Applicant Mother have sole parental responsibility for the children and that the children live with her. Crucially, pursuant to section 69VA of the *Family Law Act 1975*, the court declared Mr Peng to be the legal father of the children for the purposes of all Commonwealth laws. The Applicant Mother was granted liberty to provide a copy of these orders to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.