High Court overturns relocation case

The High Court has overturned the Mt Isa relocation case. This case involved a Federal Magistrate determining that there should be an equal shared care arrangement for a young girl, when the father worked in Mt Isa, and the mother, who came from Sydney, survived on Centrelink, while living in a caravan.

The Federal Magistrate took the view that the choices available to him were to either place the child with the father, or have the shared care arrangement in place, although the mother’s desired outcome was to live in Sydney.

The High Court has that the Full Court of the Family Court should have upheld the mother’s appeal to that court on the basis that it was not reasonably open to the Federal Magistrate to find that the arrangement for either shared care or substantial and significant care was reasonably practicable within the meaning of s. 65DAA(1)(b) of the Family Law Act.

The mother’s earlier appeal to the Full Court of the Family Court was refused by Justices Finn, May and Benjamin.

The High Court is yet to deliver detailed reasons.