WALKER & BALDWIN

In the matter of *Walker & Baldwin*, heard before Tree J, the court was required to determine parenting orders concerning a child born in 2007. The dispute involved the mother, Ms Walker, and the father, Mr Baldwin, regarding the child's living arrangements, parental responsibility, and time spent with each parent.

The legal issues before the court included the determination of where the child would live, the allocation of equal shared parental responsibility for long-term issues, and the specific arrangements for the child's time with each parent, including communication, school holidays, and special occasions. The court also considered provisions for the child's privacy, communication between parents regarding the child's health and education, and the conduct of parents towards each other in the child's presence.

Tree J ordered that the child live with the mother and that both parents have equal shared parental responsibility for major long-term issues. Detailed provisions were made for the child's time with the father, including specific days, alternate weekends, school holidays, Christmas, and the child's birthday, with provisions for communication and changeovers. The court also stipulated that each parent could attend the child's schooling and extra-curricular activities, and that parents must keep each other informed of relevant personal and medical information concerning the child. Furthermore, parents were ordered to speak respectfully of each other in the child's presence and not to physically discipline the child. The court also addressed the discharge of the Independent Children's Lawyer and attached a fact sheet detailing the obligations and consequences of contravening the orders.