WHITE & ANDREWS

In *White & Andrews*, heard before Macmillan J, the mother sought an order to discharge existing parenting orders to enable her to be solely responsible for the child's passport. The father opposed this application.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the existing parenting orders, which required the consent of both parents for the child to travel internationally, should be discharged to allow the mother to unilaterally control the child's passport. The court also considered whether an adjournment for further hearing was appropriate in the circumstances.

Macmillan J reasoned that the existing orders, which mandated joint parental consent for international travel, were no longer in the best interests of the child. The court found that the father's continued refusal to consent to the child obtaining a passport, despite the mother's expressed intention to travel with the child to visit family overseas, was unreasonable and detrimental to the child's welfare. The judge applied the overarching principle that all decisions concerning children must be made in their best interests.

Consequently, Macmillan J ordered the discharge of the relevant provisions of the existing parenting orders, thereby granting the mother sole responsibility for the child's passport and authorising her to apply for and hold it.