Children and Parenting Arrangements

We have an agreement in regards to the parenting arrangements. How do we make that agreement binding?

If you and your former partner have agreed about parenting arrangements then that agreement can be made as binding Court Orders or alternatively, written up as a Parenting Plan.

What is a Parenting Plan?

children. It must be signed and dated by both parties.

A Parenting Plan is normally reached by parties working out the parenting arrangements either by directly negotiating with each other, or with the help of a family dispute resolution practitioner.

It is not legally enforceable and is different from a Parenting Order, which is made by a court. If you do go to court, the court will take into account any previous parenting plan.

What are Consent Orders'?

Consent Orders are legally binding Orders that are approved and made by the court.

This can be done by a Judge or a Registrar (a court official) making the Orders after court proceedings have been commenced or, if the parties agree, after filing an Application for Consent Orders. Consent Orders can be enforced by the court if one or both parties breach them.

Consent Orders can deal with all types of family issues including:

• children and parenting matters;
• financial matters;
• property settlement; and
• spousal maintenance.

If you have already reached an agreement but want the reassurance and protection of having binding orders in place, E&A Lawyers can help you apply for Consent Orders. If court proceedings have already been started, then they can be settled at any time by having Consent Orders made if the parties agree.

What do we do if we cannot agree about parenting?

Under the Family Law Act, if you disagree with your spouse/former partner about arrangements for children, except in cases where there is:

• a genuine risk to a child (such as abuse or family violence); or
• urgency (such as a threatened abduction or other serious matter),

then you must first try to resolve your parenting dispute with a mediator who is specially trained to help parties resolve family law disputes. These mediators are called Family Dispute Resolution (‘FDR’) Practitioners. FDR Practitioners can be lawyers with special mediation training, social workers, counsellors or psychologists who have significant mediation training and experience.

There are also some circumstances where mediation is not possible. If an FDR Practitioner does not believe that mediation is suitable, then the practitioner will not proceed with the mediation. An example of where FDR may not be suitable is where there are issues or concerns around family violence.

What happens if we go to mediation but still cannot agree on parenting arrangements?

If you have already attended Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) with an FDR Practitioner and you have not been able to agree about arrangements for your children or the mediator does not consider your matter suitable for FDR, then the FDR Practitioner will issue you with a certificate made under section 60I of the Family Law Act.

A section 60I certificate is required to be obtained before either party may apply to the court for a parenting order.  A section 60I certificate demonstrates to the court that the parties have made a genuine effort to resolve their dispute by attending at mediation or FDR. A copy of the 60I certificate would then be attached to any parenting application made to the Family Law Courts.

Courts are not permitted to hear a parenting case unless parties have first tried FDR, or one of the exceptions referred to above applies.

How do courts decide who the children will live with and spend time with?

When deciding who the children will live with and spend time with, the court applies the provisions set out in the Family Law Act. One of the main things the court needs to decide is what arrangements are in the childrens’ best interests.

‘Childrens’ best interests’ is not a generic term. It means the court must look closely at each individual child's circumstances before deciding what is best for that child or children.

The primary matters the court takes into account when making this decision are the benefit to the children of having a meaningful relationship between the children and both parents, and the need to protect the children from harm or family violence.

There are several additional considerations that the court will also take into account when considering parenting orders.

What is an Independent Childrens’ Lawyer?

An Independent Childrens’ Lawyer (‘ICL’) is sometimes appointed by a court to represent childrens’ interests in court proceedings.

The purpose of an ICL is to act as an independent representative to assist the court in determining what arrangements are best for the children. The ICL will usually meet with children and they will have an opportunity to express, to the ICL, any views they may have about current or future arrangements.

However, the ICL's main function is to assist the court by marshalling evidence, liaising with the parties and any experts appointed to provide reports, and to form a genuinely independent view, based on the factors the court must consider about what arrangements are in the best interests of the children.