Parenting Matters

The types of parenting Orders that the Court can make include:

1. Who shall have parental responsibility for decision making for the short- and long-term care, welfare and development of the children;
2. The processes to be followed when making decisions, where two or more persons hare parental responsibility;
3. The living arrangements of the children and with whom they shall live;
4. What time the children shall spend with the other parent or other person(s) (such as non-parents, including grandparents or other relatives of the child)
5. Types and frequency of communication between the children and parents or other persons;
6. Any protective Orders or measures to be taken to safeguard the children;
7. Specific Orders such as education, extra-curricular activities, health, travel, etc
8. Any other aspect of the future care, welfare or development of the children.

Upon separation, when parents disagree about who should take care of their child, they can apply to the court for parenting orders. This means the court decides about parenting arrangements for the child. In your application, you must explain to the court what you are seeking, whether that be sole or joint parental responsibility, equal shared time, or an alternative living arrangement. Things the court will decide on include:

1. Who the child will live with;

2. How much time, and when, the child will spend with the other parent;

3. Who will fund the child’s living expenses;

4. Who will decide where the child goes to school, and

5. Other long-term decisions.

Read out blog here to learn more.

It is undeniably difficult when parents to a child are separating. When navigating the maze that is Family Law proceedings, you may have heard the terms ‘co-parenting’ and ‘parallel parenting’. So, what do they mean?

Learn more in our blog.

A parenting order is a set of orders made by a court about parenting arrangements for a child. A court can make a parenting order based on an agreement between the parties (consent orders) or after a court hearing or trial. When a parenting order is made, each person affected by the order must follow it.

A parenting order may deal with one or more of the following:

• who the child will live with
• how much time the child will spend with each parent and with other people, such as grandparents
• the allocation of parental responsibility
• how the child will communicate with a parent they do not live with, or other people
• any other aspect of the care, welfare or development of the child.

For more information see the Attorney-General’s Department publication, Parenting Orders – what you need to know.

Source: Family Court

Every family is different, so the arrangements that work for your family may be different from other families. Try to make arrangements that will work the best for your child/ren.

When making arrangements for your child/ren, you will need to consider:

• the age of the child/ren which is very important in deciding what arrangements will work.
• establishing a regular routine so the child/ren know the routine and what to expect when, but also be flexible when required.
• giving plenty of notice if you wish to change the routine, for example, for special family occasions.
• whether it is reasonably practical for the child/ren to spend equal time or substantial and significant time with each parent (substantial and significant time includes weekends, school holidays and days other than those)
• how their time will be spent with other significant persons in their lives, such as grandparents and other relatives
• who will look after them after school and where will they spend holidays
• any other things such as choice of school, health care, sport, or religious matters, and
• how to ensure that the child/ren continue to enjoy their culture.

Source: Family Court

Yes. Section 65C of the Family Law Act states that a parenting order can be applied for by:

1.Parents;
2.The child;
3.Grandparents; or
4.Any other person concerned with the care, welfare and development of the child.