Wright and Dawson

In the matter of *Wright and Dawson*, Bennett J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the father alleging contravention of a primary parenting order made on 29 October 2018. The father contended that the mother had failed to return the parties' two children to him on 28 September 2019 and had attempted to enrol one of the children in school without the father's consent on 23 August 2019, when the father held sole parental responsibility for that child.

The court was required to determine whether the mother had contravened specific paragraphs of the primary order and, if so, what consequences should follow. The legal issues revolved around the mother's alleged failure to comply with the return provisions of the order and her actions concerning the child's schooling without the father's consent.

Bennett J found that the mother had contravened the primary order on both occasions, determining that she had failed to return the children to the father on 28 September 2019 and had attempted to enrol the child D in school without the father's prior consent on 23 August 2019. The court found that the mother had no reasonable excuse for these contraventions. In response to these findings, the court made orders pursuant to s 70NEB of the *Family Law Act 1975*, requiring both parents to attend a Parenting Orders Program, granting the mother specific time with the children on a forthcoming weekend, and ordering the mother to contribute $1,000 towards the father's costs. The father's contravention application was otherwise dismissed, as were other extant interim applications. The court also clarified that the primary order's live with and spend time arrangements were to be observed notwithstanding the illness of the children.