QLD Non custodial parent moved away and now wants care.

[MrsK]

Hi Team, I have trawled the internet for hours and cannot seem to find anyone who has been in this situation. We are a blended family and my husband has always had court ordered, majority care of his daughter.
She has always lived mostly with us and visited her birth mother every second weekend and half of the school holidays (It works out that we have her about 73% of the time.)
The birth mother lived 2 hours away from us in QLD when the orders were made and after a couple of years she moved to our town. Now another couple of years have past and she has remarried.
She decided to leave QLD and move with her new husband to VIC.
Naturally, my husband wouldn't agree to letting her take the child as she wouldn't leave us an address as to where she would be leaving and also we know she is under investigation for welfare fraud. We couldn't let our girl be taken to another state without knowing where she was or if the fraud investigation was still ongoing. We can't risk her being arrested and not knowing where our child is.
Anyway, we didn't agree so the birth mother packed up and moved to VIC anyway. Now my step daughter doesn't want to even speak to her and birth mother has threatened "Well I'll just get a lawyer down here and change the orders to me having her here 100%."
As far as we are aware, the current orders still stand but she has stopped picking her up for her weekends and hasn't seen her now in weeks. She's gone and there are no new arrangements. So I guess my question is, there is information online about how to seek new orders in QLD if there has been a significant change and there is information about applying to the court to be able to relocate to a new state BEFORE you move, but in this situation would her Victorian lawyer have to contact us in QLD. Does this situation still go through the QLD system should she wish to try and gain care?

I just can't seem to find anything stating how one can apply to change the orders when they have already abandoned the child and moved states?

Thanks in advance
- MK

 

[Tremaine]

That’s because the process for filing an initiating application to amend parenting orders is the same regardless of the circumstances or facts behind such an application. That is, her decision to move before filing doesn’t affect whether or not she can file. All that decision is, is a fact of the case for the Court to consider when deciding the matter.

Before the court will consider amending a parenting order, the facts need to show there’s been a significant change in circumstances and/or the orders no longer reflect the best interests of the child. A relocation of this nature would fit that criteria of significant change, but if the child has lived primarily with dad for a long time without incident, and the mother chose to relocate, it might change the orders to allow more time with mum during the holidays and change alternate weekends to just long weekends, but it’s unlikely to reverse the current residency arrangement all together.

If mum does file an application in Victoria, you can request that the case be transferred to the Queensland registry so all hearings will take place in Queensland. For the first mention when such a request would be considered, you can seek permission to appear via telephone.

 

[MrsK]

Thank you for this.

 

[sammy01]

don't bother with court / new orders. It is a waste of time and money.
If you get a written agreement from her pertaining to travel arrangements / address / contact details then i'd suggest you let the kids go during school holidays.