Xiu and Hodges

This matter before the Family Court of Australia concerned parenting orders for the child K, born in April 2002. The applicant was Ms. Xiu (the mother) and the respondent was Mr. Hodges (the father). The Independent Children’s Lawyer was Barbayannis Lawyers.

The court was required to determine the allocation of parental responsibility for the child's education and health, as well as the child's living arrangements. The court also needed to address the process for making decisions regarding the child's schooling and healthcare, including the facilitation of communication and consultation between the parents.

By consent, the court discharged previous parenting orders and made new orders. The mother was granted sole parental responsibility for educational decisions, with the father permitted to home-school the child one day per week. The father was granted sole responsibility for health decisions, with specific provisions for specialist appointments. The court established a framework for annual case conferences to discuss the child's health and education, detailing attendance, agenda setting, and information sharing between the parents. The child's living arrangements were set out, with the child to live with the father during school terms from Wednesday after school until Saturday evening, and with the mother at all other times, with specific provisions for holidays. The court also imposed restraints on both parents regarding communication with third parties and the filing of future applications without leave. The Independent Children's Lawyer was discharged, existing applications were dismissed, and the case was removed from the court's list.