Webber and Jones and Ors

In the matter of Webber and Jones and Ors, Boland J considered an application by the mother for permission to remove the child, born in July 2005, from Australia for a holiday in France between 9 September 2007 and 2 October 2007. The application was opposed by the paternal grandparents.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether to grant the mother's request to travel internationally with the child, which would necessitate the temporary suspension of existing parenting orders concerning the child's time with the paternal grandparents. The court also had to consider arrangements for the child's return and the resumption of the grandparents' time with the child.

Boland J granted the mother's application, permitting the child's removal from Australia for the specified holiday period. To facilitate this, the court ordered that the child be removed from the Passport Watch list during the travel dates and subsequently reinstated. Crucially, existing orders from the Local Court Family Matters dated 10 April 2006, and consent orders made on 4 September 2007 between the mother and the paternal grandparents, were suspended for the duration of the holiday. The court further ordered that the paternal grandparents' time with the child would resume on 6 October 2007, with an additional two-hour period of contact scheduled for 4 October 2007.