At 12:00 pm on Thursday 12 August 2021, the ACT Government announced its first confirmed case of COVID-19 in a little over a year. Consequently, Canberrans were placed into immediate lockdown for seven days. At the time of writing this article, the lockdown has been extended for an additional 14 days following the confirmation of more cases, pushing the lockdown period out to 2 September 2021.

Newly imposed public health directions prohibit Canberrans from leaving their homes for any reason other than a ‘permitted purpose’. In this short blog, Jonathan Statham discusses what this announcement means for parents seeking to continue existing shared care arrangements, which may or may not be formalised in a Parenting Plan and Court Order.

Shared care arrangements, parenting plans and court orders

Section 120 of The Public Health Act 1997 (‘the Act’) enables the ACT Government to make Public Health Emergency Directions (‘Health Directions’) in relation to the protection of the ACT community from serious public health risks such as COVID-19.

Section 2 of The Public Health Emergency Directions (‘the Directions’) specifies 12 exceptions or ‘permitted purposes’ for Canberrans to leave their homes. Relevantly, section 2(r) of the Directions allows parents to maintain existing access arrangements, stating:

“a person must not leave their residence other than for children under 18 years who do not live in the same household as their parents or siblings or one of their parents or siblings – to continue existing arrangements for access to, or contact between, parents and children or siblings, other than access to or contact with a person who is at high or moderate risk of serious illness from COVID-19”.

Additionally, section 2(n) of the Directions permits Canberrans to leave their homes  to comply with Court Orders, stating:

“that a person must not leave their residence other than to attend a Court or Tribunal of Australia, or to comply with, or give effect to an Order of a Court or Tribunal of Australia”.  

Further, section 2(s) of the Directions permits people to leave a home to return to their primary residences, stating:

“that a person must not leave their residence other than to return to their principal place of residence or to move to a new principal place of residence”.

Travelling interstate

Before travelling interstate, parents should always consider the following steps:

  • reviewing the government website of the state or territory that they seek to leave and enter before commencing their trip
  • completing any relevant statutory declaration and exemption forms before entering another state or territory
  • adhering to the relevant time frames that apply to the submission of these forms. For example, statutory declarations often need to be submitted anywhere between 72 to 24 hours before entering another state or territory
  • always carrying the relevant documents while travelling interstate, for example, a Parenting Plan or Court Order
  • adhering to all other health restrictions while facilitating handover of your child/ren.

How can we help?

For parents who do not have a formal parenting agreement in place, it’s worth considering a Parenting Plan to prove that they are entitled to leave their home for a permitted purpose under the current Directions.

If you require further advice in relation to the preparation of a Parenting Plan, an application for parenting orders, or your parental rights, please do not hesitate to contact our Family Law team on 02 6285 8000 or by email.

 

 

For further information regarding the permitted purposes allowing people to leave their homes, please go to: https://www.covid19.act.gov.au/act-status-and-response/lockdown/reasons-why-you-can-leave-home

For further information regarding declarations and exemptions required prior to entering another state or territory, please go to: https://www.covid19.act.gov.au/travel/entering-the-act/travel-directions-in-the-act/online-travel-forms