[1] The High Court of Australia decided that a Federal Magistrate erred by failing to consider the "reasonable practicability" of a parenting order with an equal time arrangement that required the mother to live in Mount Isa.

[2] The father returned to Mount Isa, whilst the mother and M remained living in the family home in Sydney.

[9] After returning to Mount Isa, and whilst M and her mother were living in Sydney, the father applied in the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia for parenting orders under Part VII, Division 6 of the Family Law Act 1975.

[2] As rental accommodation of acceptable quality was very scarce and expensive in Mount Isa, the mother lived in a caravan park.

[5] A full bench of the Family Court, consisting of Finn, May and Benjamin JJ, dismissed the appeal on 5 August 2008 (though they did not publish their decision until 15 May 2009).

"[10] Indeed, she argued that the Full Court had brushed over Coker FM's errors by saying that "there would have been no point in his Honour's giving any consideration to a proposal whereby both parties would live in the Sydney area.

[10] During this argument, Justice Kiefel questioned whether the court had any statutory power to make a decision as to where the parents should live.

[10] The father also argued that factors set out by the legislation which could be considered in relation to the question of reasonable practicability needed to be "touched on", but that "there is no necessity for a judge to direct his attention to each and every one specifically as they are set out or in the order that the legislation provides", and as such there was no error arising merely from Coker FM not expressly considering every factor.

"[2]: at para 15 The Court went on to say that Coker FM had treated the question of whether an equal time arrangement was in M's best interests "as determinative of whether an order should be made", and that he had failed to consider reasonable practicability.

[2]: at para 14 In this case, the Court held, an equal time arrangement would only be possible if both parents were to live in Mount Isa, and therefore in assessing reasonable practicability Coker FM "was obliged to consider the circumstances of the parties, more particularly those of the mother".