Child Custody Lawyers Sydney

A parenting plan is a written, signed, and dated agreement negotiated directly between you and your former partner. It outlines how you will manage your children's daily care and long-term needs. You can use a parenting plan to cover living arrangements, the time children spend with each parent, communication methods, and major life decisions.

The main benefit of a parenting plan is its flexibility. Because it is a private agreement, you can easily update or modify the parenting plan without going to court. However, a parenting plan is not legally enforceable by a court, meaning you cannot rely on the legal system to enforce the agreement if the other parent stops following it. If, however, you did apply to the Court for Orders later on, the Court must take into consideration any previous parenting plan.

Our parenting plan lawyers frequently help clients to draft clear and practical plans that reflect your family's unique dynamics and foster cooperative co-parenting.

Under Section 60I of the Family Law Act, parents are generally required to attempt Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) before they can apply to a court for parenting orders. This mediation process encourages families to collaborate and agree on arrangements outside of the courtroom. If FDR is unsuccessful, an accredited practitioner will issue a certificate allowing you to proceed with a court application.

The law recognises that mediation is not safe or practical for every family, and there are specific exceptions to the FDR requirement. You may be exempt from obtaining a certificate in cases involving:

• Urgency
• Family violence or abuse
• A risk of harm to a child
• A party who is unable to participate effectively

Our family dispute resolution lawyers help you prepare thoroughly for the mediation process and assist you during FDR, ensuring your rights are protected while striving for an out-of-court solution.

Parenting consent orders are legally binding orders made by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) by mutual agreement. This allows you to formalise your parenting arrangements without the need for a contested court hearing.

When drafting the proposed consent orders you wish the court to make (known as Minute of Consent Orders), you must consider where the children will live, visitation schedules, decision-making responsibilities and communication methods. You must also:

• Take into consideration the best interests of the children (as defined in the Family Law Act);
• Ensure that your proposed orders contain enough detail to meet strict legal standards;
• Ensure that affidavits are witnessed correctly and all supporting documentation is complete. 

Before making the orders, the court must review your agreement and be satisfied that the arrangements are in your child's "best interests" under Section 60CC of the Family Law Act. 

Once approved, consent orders provide lasting stability and certainty for your family. They carry the same legal weight as orders made by a judge after a trial and are fully enforceable if the other parent breaches the agreement.

Our consent order lawyers meticulously draft and file your Application for Consent Orders, ensuring your agreement meets the strict statutory requirements of the Family Law Act for court approval.

As your children grow, the parenting orders made years ago may no longer suit your family's reality. However, changing final parenting consent orders without the other parent's agreement requires complex litigation. 

Under the 2024 amendments to the Family Law Act, Section 65DAAA dictates that the court will not reconsider a final parenting order unless you can prove a "significant change in circumstances" has occurred since the original order was made.

If there is compelling evidence and it is in the best interest of the child, the court may consider the following reasons to change parenting orders:

• A Child's Maturation & Views: The child has grown significantly older and expresses a clear, age-appropriate view that the current orders are no longer suitable.
• Relocation: A parent plans a long-distance move that fundamentally disrupts the existing care and routine.
• Safety & Family Dynamics: New risks of family violence, neglect, or a parent re-partnering with someone who poses a risk to the child's welfare.
• Health or Capacity: A severe deterioration in a parent's physical or mental health that affects their ability to safely care for the child.
• Flagrant Non-Compliance: One parent repeatedly breaching the existing orders or failing to spend time with the child without a reasonable excuse.

Whatever significant change in circumstances your family are dealing with, our experienced child custody lawyers can help you build the compelling evidentiary portfolio required to satisfy the court's strict threshold and legally vary your orders.

The law generally expects parents to consult each other on major decisions for their children. However, the FCFCOA may allocate sole parental responsibility to one parent if it protects the child. This outcome typically occurs in cases involving entrenched conflict, family violence, or child abuse.

When deciding these matters, the court strictly applies the Section 60CC best-interests test (see above), which prioritises the safety and developmental needs of the child above all else. 

Led by Accredited Family Law Specialists, we help you gather the specific evidence required to apply for sole parental responsibility or respond to an application. We frequently help parents demonstrate why an order for sole decision-making is or is not in the child’s best interests and necessary for your family.

If you need to move with your child, or you want to prevent the other parent from moving, you should speak with one of our family lawyers as soon as possible. 

There is no automatic right to relocate a child intrastate, interstate, or internationally if the move affects the child’s time with the other parent. You must obtain the other parent's consent or a formal court parenting order before leaving.

The court decides relocation cases by weighing the relocating parent's freedom of movement against the child's right to maintain a meaningful relationship with both parents and other significant persons in their lives (such as grandparents and other relatives). 

Our Accredited Family Law Specialists can advise you on the legal strength of your position and help negotiate or litigate a child relocation application.

A recovery order is a court order made when a child is wrongfully taken or withheld by another person (s 67Q/67U Family Law Act). It requires a child to be returned to their ordinary habitual residence and primary caregiver, which can include:

• A parent;
• A person who has parental responsibility for the child under a parenting order;
• A grandparent of the child (with or without a parenting order);
• Any other person concerned with the care, welfare or development of the child (with or without a parenting order).

A recovery order can also authorise designated individuals - most commonly the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and state police officers - with power to ensure your child is located and safely returned. Specifically, a recovery order authorises these designated persons to:

• Search and locate: Stop and search any vehicle, aircraft, or physical premises to find your child, using reasonable force if necessary.
• Recover and return: Safely recover your child (by force if required) and deliver them directly back into your care or the care of another authorised guardian.
• Manage temporary welfare: Issue specific directions regarding the day-to-day care of your child until they are safely returned to you.
• Prevent future abductions: Legally prohibit the offending person from attempting to take or withhold the child again.
• Arrest without a warrant: Immediately arrest anyone who breaches the order by attempting to remove the child a second time.

To obtain this order, you must prove that you have parental responsibility or an existing parenting order, and that the child was wrongfully removed. The court will only grant the application if returning the child aligns with their best interests under Section 67V of the Act. 

If your child has been taken without your consent, our family lawyers act quickly to file the urgent application and represent you in court.