Whitfield and Donovan

In *Whitfield and Donovan*, heard by Judge Coker, the dispute concerned the parental responsibility and living arrangements for two children, X and Y. The mother sought sole parental responsibility for long-term decisions regarding the children's care, welfare, and development, including their education, religious and cultural upbringing, health, and name. She also sought orders for the children to live with her.

The court was required to determine whether to grant the mother sole parental responsibility for long-term decisions and whether the children should live with her. Additionally, the court considered the father's role in the children obtaining passports, specifically addressing the necessity of his consent and the potential for a passport to be issued notwithstanding his refusal or failure to act.

Judge Coker ordered that the mother have sole parental responsibility for long-term decisions concerning the children's care, welfare, and development, encompassing their education, religious and cultural upbringing, health, and name. The court further ordered that the children live with the mother. In relation to passports, the father was directed to provide all necessary consent and cooperation within fourteen days of a written request from the mother. Crucially, the court stipulated that if the father refused or failed to comply, a passport would issue without his signature, notwithstanding section 11(1) of the *Australian Passports Act 2005*. All other extant applications were dismissed.