Parenting arrangements & child custody.

A mother dropping their child to the father

Parenting arrangements for your children.

There are 3 main ways you can make arrangements for your child or children following separation:

  1. Informal arrangements;

  2. Parenting plans; and

  3. Parenting Orders (including by consent).

The first two arrangements are not binding and are not enforceable. This means that if you or the other parent/person renege on the agreement, a Court cannot intervene or enforce the agreement. Parenting orders are however binding and enforceable and can either be made by consent or ordered by the Court.

Before filing any application for parenting orders in the Federal Circuit Court and Family Court of Australia (“FCFCOA”), you and the other parent must try to resolve your disputes outside of Court. In order to make an application for parenting orders, parents must supply the Court with a certificate from a registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (“FDRP”) which says that you and the other parent/person have attempted to resolve your disputes outside of Court. It is only in exceptional circumstances that the Court will not require this certificate prior to commencing proceedings.

 

What do parenting orders outline?

A parenting order is an order made under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (“the Act”) that deals with one or more of the following matters set out in section 64B(2) of the Act:

  • who the child will live with;

  • the time a child will spend with another person;

  • the allocation of parental responsibility;

  • if two or more persons are to share parental responsibility for the child - the form of consultations those persons are to have with one another about decisions to be made in exercising parental responsibility;

  • the communication a child is to have with another person (ie. telephone, FaceTime, email);

  • maintenance of a child;

  • the steps to be taken before an application is made to the Court for a variation of an order;

  • the process to be used for resolving disputes about the terms or operation of an order; and

  • any aspect of the care, welfare or development of the child or any other aspect of parental responsibility for a child.

How the voice of the child is heard?

The court process is designed to balance the need to protect children from conflict with the child’s right to have a voice in decisions being made about them. This video is about how a child’s voice is considered in a family law case in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.