My former partner lives in one of the LGA’s of concern, do I still have to facilitate our parenting arrangement?

There are currently a number of Local Government Areas (LGA’s) of concern that are subject to harsher COVID restrictions than the remainder of Greater Sydney. Does that mean that as a result of these harsher restrictions you do not have to, or are not allowed to, facilitate your current parenting arrangement because your former partner lives in one of the LGA’s of concern?

The answer to this question is no. According to the public health orders, it is considered a reasonable excuse to leave the home to continue existing arrangements for access to, and contact between, parents and children.

This means that you are allowed to enter, and your former partner is allowed to leave, their specific LGA of concern if the reason for this travel is to conduct changeover of your children pursuant to your existing parenting arrangements (subject to other rules such as wearing a mask). This is also true if you live in an LGA of concern, or if both you and your former partner live in an LGA of concern.

In circumstances where you may have Court Orders in place providing for the parenting arrangements of your children, unless you and the other parent are able to come to an “ad hoc” agreement to temporarily vary those Orders, you are required to continue facilitating time pursuant to the Orders, even if you are concerned that there may be some risk associated with allowing your children to enter the LGA of concern.

If you have any questions about the effect of the current COVID-19 restrictions on implementing your existing parenting arrangements or if you would like a free 15-minute consultation to discuss your situation, please call our Family Law team on 9523 5535.

If you found this article useful, you may also like to read Best tips for managing shared care arrangements in lockdown.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is provided as general information only. It is not intended to be legal advice and it should not be used or relied on as legal or professional advice.