MOTHER SEEKS THE RETURN OF HER CHILDREN AFTER BEING RELOCATED BY THE FATHER
Beckford & Beckford [2020] FCCA 2639 (21 August 2020)
This case involves a father who relocated his children away from her mother despite previous court order that the children shall live with him but spend time with their mother.
Facts:
The Father has unilaterally relocated his children to northern Queensland. He did that with no notice to the Mother and no application by him to do so. The Mother seeks the immediate return of the children. The mother relies on the final orders that were made just over a year ago where the children should live with their father and spend time with their mother.
It is the Father’s case that whilst he has relocated to Queensland with the children, they can still continue to have a meaningful relationship with the Mother, and that meaningful does not mean optimal. It is his case that the removal of the children was necessary to protect them from psychological harm. That is a fact in dispute.
Issue:
Should the children be returned in order to have a meaningful relationship with their mother?
Law:
- In terms of the factors pursuant to section 60CC of the Act, the two primary factors are, of course, the benefit to the children of having a meaningful relationship with both parents, and the need to protect children from physical or psychological harm, from being subjected to, or exposed to, abuse, neglect or family violence.
Analysis:
The children remaining in Queensland, being effectively unable to pursue a relationship, or repair a relationship, with the Mother, does put them at some risk. It also means that the relationship between the Mother and the children really cannot be meaningful. When I specifically asked the Father to address me as to how it was that he said a meaningful relationship could still be maintained between the children and the Mother, given the distance and the current living arrangements, he was unable to articulate that.
Conclusion:
The children should be returned so that they could have a meaningful relationship with their mother.
