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Sydney parenting matters are dealt with in the Federal Circuit Court and Family Court of Australia (FCFCA) in the Lionel Bowen Building in Goulburn Street. There are also FCFCA locations in Parramatta and at regional centres such as Coffs Harbour and Wollongong. Sydney parenting matters involve disputes about who has care of and legal responsibility for children. Applications are generally made by parents, although another interested party such as a grandparent may also make an application.
In parenting matters, courts make parenting orders setting out which parent (or other person) children are to live with, who they are to spend time with and who is to have parental responsibility for them. Australian family law requires the best interests of the children to be the paramount consideration when a court is deciding on parenting arrangements. Parenting matters are decided based on the children’s right to have a relationship with each of their parents. They are not about the parents’ rights.
Sydney parenting matters: parental responsibility
Parental responsibility is the term that Australian family law gives to what a lot of people think of as ‘custody.’ The person or persons with parental responsibility is legally responsible for the children and entitled to make major decisions about them – such as choosing the school they will go to, the religion they will follow and consenting to any major medical treatments or procedures they are to receive.
There is a rebuttable presumption that it is in the best interests of the child that the parents should have equal shared parental responsibility. This presumption does not apply in matters where a parent has abused the child or another child in the family or has perpetrated family violence. The presumption can be rebutted with evidence.
Sydney parenting matters: live with/spend time with
Sydney parenting matters also involve decisions about who the children should live with and who they should spend time with (and how much time should be spent and under what circumstances). Who the children live with and how much time they spend with a non-resident parent will be determined by the court according to the circumstances of the case and the evidence that has been adduced.
In determining what is in the children's best interests with respect to who they live with and who they spend time with court will take into account:
- Who the children have lived with previously;
- The nature of their relationship with each of their parents;
- Where each parent lives;
- Where the children’s school is;
- Where the extended family lives;
- The cultural needs of the children;
- Any other relevant circumstances.
Common orders
While the majority of Sydney parenting matters include an order for equal shared parental responsibility, there is a range of orders courts have the power to make with respect to who the children live with and spend time with.
Sydney parenting matters commonly include the following parenting orders:
- That the children live half the time with one parent and half the time with the other;
- That the children live mainly with one parent but stay for specified periods with the other. For example, that the children live with the father but spend every second weekend and half the school holidays with the mother;
- That the children live with one parent and regularly spend time with the other parent (without staying overnight).
- That the children live with one parent and spend supervised time with the other. Supervised contact may occur at home with a family member, such as a grandparent supervising, or in a contact centre.
Where appropriate, a court may also make orders that the children spend regular time with other significant persons in their life. This generally occurs where there is a dispute between the parents as to whether such contact should occur or where the contact is important for cultural reasons.
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