WHITE & GIBSON

This matter concerned parenting orders made by Judge Bender. The dispute involved the mother's application to change the surname of the children, X, Z, and Y, from White to Gibson-White, and the father's counter-application for parenting orders.

The court was required to determine the primary issues of whether the children's surname should be changed and what parenting arrangements, including parental responsibility, living arrangements, and time spent with each parent, were in the best interests of X, Z, and Y. The court also had to consider the father's access to information regarding the children's schooling and health, and the need for therapeutic counselling between the father and X.

In reaching its decision, the court discharged all previous parenting orders except for two specific orders from 29 September 2011. The court ordered equal shared parental responsibility for X and Y, but sole parental responsibility for Z to the mother. The children were ordered to live with the mother, with specific arrangements for the father's time with them, including alternate weekends, half of school holidays, and monthly one-on-one overnight stays. The court also made detailed orders regarding the father's right to communicate with schools and health professionals, and his attendance at school events. The mother's application to change the children's surname was dismissed.