Additions have been made to the 101 Family Law Answers reference manual.

The following commentary was added to Admissibility of settlement negotiations:

A without prejudice offer to settle parenting matters was admitted in the Western Australia case S and K [2007] FCWA 17. In this case the court said:

There is no doubt that it is important to preserve confidentiality and to foster an environment that allows parties to negotiate without fear they will be compromised in an endeavour to settle matters. However, offers can be made for a number of reasons and the overarching principle is always the best interests of the child. It is not the sole consideration but it is the paramount one.

The Court should not be precluded from obtaining information to ensure that the principle is met…

Note: This is a single judge decision and hasn’t been followed in subsequent cases since it was handed down in 2007.

The following useful case references were added to Relocation:

Carne & Feldt [2013] FCCA 1851: the court permitted an interim relocation 100 km (1 hour) away. The child was 6 years old and the mother was relocating to live with her new partner, the father of her unborn child.

Cavanagh & Kennedy [2013] FCCA 345: the mother unilaterally relocated with the parties’ 7 year old daughter to a place an ‘hour and a half away’ despite an earlier final order providing for equal shared parental responsibility and that each ‘parent is restrained from relocating outside the … district unless agreed in writing between the parties’. The court ordered she return.

Morgan & Miles [2007] FamCA 1230: dealt with a move of 144 km and whether this constitutes ‘a relocation’.