WYLIE & WYLIE

In the matter of *Wylie & Wylie*, Tree J of the Family Court of Australia determined parenting arrangements for two children. The dispute concerned the future care and responsibilities of the children, with the court ultimately making orders regarding parental responsibility, living arrangements, and communication between the parents.

The court was required to determine the primary caregiver for the children, the allocation of parental responsibility for major long-term issues, and the extent of the mother's future involvement in the children's lives. Key issues included the father's sole parental responsibility for long-term decisions, the mother's access to information about the children, the children's residence, and the conditions under which the mother might seek increased time with the children. The court also considered the need for both parents to engage in counselling and for the mother to undergo psychological assessment.

Tree J ordered that all previous parenting orders and plans be discharged. The father was granted sole parental responsibility for major long-term issues concerning the children, subject to a requirement to provide the mother with 14 days' written notice of any proposed decision, invite her views, consider those views, and advise her of the final decision. The children were ordered to live with the father, and the father was prohibited from relocating the children away from Townsville without the mother's consent or a court order. The orders also facilitated information sharing between parents regarding the children's medical and educational progress, encouraged relationships with extended families, and mandated counselling for the children and the father. The mother was ordered to attend counselling and provide reports on her progress, with a pathway established for future applications for increased time with the children contingent on her psychological and psychiatric reports and a Legal Aid Family Dispute Resolution Conference.