WICKS & FOOTE (No.4)

In the matter of *Wicks & Foote (No.4)*, Judge Obradovic of the Family Court of Australia considered an application to vary final parenting orders. The proceedings were initiated approximately two months after the final orders were made, prompting the court to determine whether there had been a material change in circumstances justifying a review of the existing parenting arrangements.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the circumstances had changed sufficiently since the making of the final parenting orders to warrant a new hearing. This required the court to apply the principles established in *Rice & Asplund* (1979) FLC 90-725, which govern when final parenting orders can be revisited. The paramount consideration in this determination was, as always, the best interests of the child.

Judge Obradovic reasoned that for a court to depart from final parenting orders, the applicant must demonstrate a change in circumstances of such significance that it would be in the child's best interests to re-examine the existing arrangements. Applying this principle, the court found that the threshold for revisiting the final orders had not been met. Consequently, the application was dismissed.

The court ordered that the Response filed on 16 November 2018 be dismissed and that all outstanding issues be removed from the list of cases awaiting finalisation.