What are parenting orders?
Parenting orders
are a set of orders made by a court about
parental responsibility and the living arrangements for a child. The
parties to a parenting order are legally bound to comply with it. You or
the other party may enter into a parenting plan or apply to court for consent
orders. Parents should understand thar the
best interests of the child is the paramount consideration for the family
court. The Family court will determine those interests based on the individual
circumstances of the particular family. Schools are not parties to parenting orders and they
are therefore not required to comply with, or enforce, them.
Structure of
parenting orders
A parenting order may deal
with one or more of the following:
- child/ren primary living arrangement
- how much time the child/ren will spend with each parent or with
other people
- how the child/ren will communicate with a parent they do not live
with, or other people, and
- any aspect of the care, welfare or development of the child/ren
e.g, medical, schooling, travelling, etc
Consequence of
breach of Court Orders
When
a parenting order is made, either by way of consent orders or after a
hearing by the court, every person affected by the order must comply with all
of the terms of the order. If there is a breach of orders you can apply
for a Contravention Application either the Federal Circuit
Court or the Family Court, depending on how complex the matter is. A
Contravention Application seeks an order from the court imposing a punishment
or consequence on a person who has breached the Court Orders.
If one parent
files an application alleging the other person did not comply with the parenting
order, the court may decide that the contravention was,
- established.
- established but there was a reasonable excuse
- less serious and there was no reasonable excuse, or
- a more serious contravention without reasonable excuse.
If a parent disobeys an order
multiple times or if a court finds that you have failed to comply with a
parenting order without reasonable excuse, it may impose a penalty. These
include:
- vary the primary parenting order
- order you to attend a post separation parenting program.
- paying for any expenses incurred because of the breach (such as
loss of airfares)
- paying some or all of the other person’s legal costs
- community service work
- entry into a bond for up to 2 years
- a fine
- a jail term
If you’re accused
of breaching a court order or you think someone else is breaching a court
order, you should contact us for legal advice.
Dangers of
sharing your Family Law proceedings on social media e.g. Facebook post, Instagram
post, twitter etc .
It is so common that most
people think that posting or venting on social media, or any media available
about their separation or family law proceeding to the public, is acceptable.
Section
121(1) of the Act imposed strict rules in place concerning the non-publication
of family law proceedings.The
punishment for breaching section 121 can be as severe as imprisonment of up to
1 year. In conclusion, You should be careful of
what you put on social media during family law proceedings to prevent such
information from being used against you.
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