CD v EF

Facts

The applicant mother and the respondent father, who were never married, are British nationals, as are their two children, G, who is nearly 11, and H, who is 8½. In 2024 the parties planned a departure from the UK, applied for Australian visas in July 2024 and left on 4 November 2024, having given up the lease on the family home, removed the children from their school and disposed of the family car; they travelled on one-way tickets. In January 2025 both parties signed a 12-month contract as caretakers on a farm in Australia, where they lived and worked; the children were home schooled, joined a gymnastics club and a soccer club, and from 30 July 2025 attended school there. The relationship broke down in late May 2025 and the parties began sharing care. In September 2025 the respondent booked flights to the United Kingdom for himself and the children with a return date of 19 October 2025, and they left Australia on 17 September 2025. The respondent did not take the return flight, applied for UK school places on 15 October 2025 and kept the children in England. In November 2025 the applicant approached the Australian Central Authority, and on 11 February 2026 she applied for their summary return under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 incorporating the 1980 Hague Convention.