WITHERS & RUSSELL

This matter concerned contravention applications filed by the Father, and the proper construction of an order made by Justice Watts on 20 September 2016. The dispute centred on the interpretation of orders concerning the time children spent with each parent, specifically how an order for the Mother to elect two one-week periods during school terms interacted with an existing order for alternate weekend time.

The central legal issue before Gill J was to determine the correct interpretation of the existing parenting orders, particularly the interplay between the Mother's right to elect specific one-week periods during school terms and the Father's entitlement to alternate weekend contact. This required the Court to ascertain whether the Mother's elected weeks displaced the Father's usual weekend time.

Gill J reasoned that the orders, when read together, indicated that the Mother's elected weeks were intended to be in addition to, rather than in substitution for, the Father's alternate weekend time. The Court considered the language of the orders and the likely intention behind them, concluding that the specific provision for the Mother to elect two one-week periods during school terms did not override the standing arrangement for alternate weekend contact. The Court found that the Father's application for contravention was not made out on the basis of the proper construction of the orders.