Watkins and Rike

In *Watkins and Rike*, Rees J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the father to issue a subpoena to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and an application to discharge existing orders concerning the children J and Y. The mother sought to vary the existing orders, which had previously established equal shared parental responsibility and a specific time arrangement for the children.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the father's application for a subpoena to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship should be granted, and whether the existing orders for equal shared parental responsibility and the children's living arrangements should be discharged and replaced with new orders. The court also had to determine the appropriate time arrangements for the children should the existing orders be discharged.

Rees J discharged the previous order for equal shared parental responsibility. The court reasoned that the existing orders were no longer appropriate and made new orders for the children to live with the mother when not spending time with the father. Specific time arrangements were then detailed, outlining the days and times the children would spend with the father, including provisions for changeovers at a designated location. The application for the subpoena to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship was dismissed. The matter was subsequently referred for the appointment of a trial date, with directions for the filing of affidavits relating to a jurisdictional issue.