WHELDON & DINH

This matter concerned parenting orders for the children S and T, born in 2004 and 2008 respectively. The dispute involved the mother and father of the children, with Murphy J presiding. The court was required to determine the nature of parental responsibility, the living arrangements for the children, and the time the children would spend with each parent. Additionally, the court addressed issues relating to overseas travel, communication between parents regarding the children's health and education, and the publication of the orders.

The court ordered that the mother and father share equal parental responsibility for "major long-term issues" as defined by the *Family Law Act 1975*. For issues not classified as major long-term issues, each parent would have responsibility during the time the children were in their care. The children were ordered to live with their mother. The father's time with the children was to be initially supervised for a period of approximately six months, commencing with supervised contact in alternate weeks for up to six hours, and then transitioning to unsupervised time on alternate weekends for six hours. Commencing in September 2011, the father's time was to increase to alternate weekends from Friday after school until Monday before school during school terms, and specific halves of school holidays, with further adjustments to holiday time in subsequent years.

Further orders were made to facilitate parental communication and information sharing regarding the children's health and education. The mother was restrained from taking or sending the children out of Australia, and the Australian Federal Police were requested to place the children's names on the airport watch list. The children's passports were to be held by the father. All outstanding applications for parenting orders were dismissed, and the Independent Children's Lawyer was discharged. The orders also included a fact sheet detailing the obligations and consequences of contravention.