Where two or more persons share parental responsibility for a child under a parenting order in respect of a “major long-term issue”, then there is an obligation on the parties, pursuant to s 65DAC(2) of the Family Law Act 1975, to make any decision in respect of that issue jointly. This means they must consult each other and make a genuine effort to come to a joint decision: s 65DAC(3), Family Law Act 1975. Although the persons with shared parental responsibility have an obligation under the Act to consult in relation to these issues, the act does not say what is to happen if the parties cannot come to a joint decision.

Major long-term issues (as defined by s 4 of the Act) in relation to a child include (but are not limited to) issues concerning:

• the child’s current and future education (see Major long-term issues — Education);

• the child’s religion and cultural upbringing (see Major long-term issues — Religion);

• the child’s health (see Major long-term issues — Health);

• the name of the child (see Major long-term issues — Change of name); and

• changes to the living arrangements of the child that would make it significantly more difficult for the child to spend time with a parent (see Major long-term issues — Relocation and see Location and recovery orders).