The costs of spending time with children
The first thing to be aware of is that orders that are considered to be “child support orders” cannot be made by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. These are orders like who pays school fees and so on. The only exception to this rule relates to the costs of spending time with children.
If children are to be travelling between parents you should have orders that provide for meeting the costs of this travel, along with any other orders that are necessary such as, who arranges the travel, who pays, whether your child can travels as an unaccompanied minor; and so on.
The options are that one parent pays the entire costs, or the costs are shared, either equally or one parent pays more than the other.
If it is agreed that one parent will pay all of the costs of travel it would seem a sensible order that the same parent books all of the travel although you could have an order that says that the other parent books the travel and is reimbursed.
If you have specific orders about when school holiday time will be spent with each parent you might not need an order requiring the parents to have a discussion about when the flights will be booked, as you will know what date the children will be travelling.
You might want to think about whether it is necessary to have an order that specifies that flights will not be booked later than, or earlier than a certain time if there is some travel involved to get to and from the airport. Sometimes orders say that children will only be booked on a direct flight and/or a day time flight particularly if they are travelling as unaccompanied minors.
If parents have agreed to pay equally, the order should set out what leg of the travel each parent will pay for. There are two schools of thought about such orders. The first argument is the parent into whose care the children are travelling, would want to pay and book the airfare to ensure that the children make that travel. In the same vein, the parent who wants the children returned back to their care would pay for that leg of travel. However, the other thought is that the only way to ensure that a parent will put a child on a plane, to travel to the other parent, is if the first parent is paying because if the child doesn’t travel that parent will lose the fare.
The first scenario is the most common.
Here's an example order. Assume the children live primarily with Parent A and are spending school holidays with Parent B.
“Parent B will pay the costs of the children's travel to spend time with him/her pursuant to these orders. Parent B will provide Parent A with the details of travel and the children's E tickets at least 14 days prior to travel.
Parent A will pay the costs of the children's return flight/ travel. Parent A will provide Parent B with the details of travel and the children's E tickets at least 14 days prior to travel.”
It might be necessary to add
“each parent will be responsible for the costs of the children's travel to and from airport/place of departure to his/her place of residence/place where time spending is taking place. “
Some orders also provide clarity in relation to a situation where instead of the children spending school holiday time at the parent’s usual place of residence that parent is taking them on a holiday, but the costs of travel are extra because the travel is to a different place.
“In the event the costs of the children's travel to spend time with parent A/B is more than usual because that parent is spending time with the children in a different location than that parent’s usual place of residence, that parent will pay the additional costs of travel over and above the usual cost”.
When should our children travel unaccompanied?
You should check the policy of the airline but the question is just because the airline allows children to travel as unaccompanied minors, will your children be OK to do so?
In Australia, a child must be at least 5 years old to fly unaccompanied, as this is the mandatory age for the Unaccompanied Minor service, though policies can vary by airline. Children under 5 must always travel with a supervising adult.
Those aged 5-11 must use the Unaccompanied Minor service if not travelling with a supervising adult; although to note the airline’s policy as Qantas for example, would allow a child between the ages of 5-11, to travel accompanied by a guardian who is aged 15 years or older, travelling on an adult fare.
For teenagers aged over 12, the service is optional but can be requested.
If your child requires special assistance or needs specific care, they must be accompanied by a fare paying guardian or carer who is aged 15 years or older.
An additional fee is payable to use the Unaccompanied Minor service.
Internationally, most airlines have the same “over 5 “ policy.
Many parents would think that a 5 year old would not be able to travel without a parent or trusted adult. This is an area that often causes disputes because one parent considers the child is old enough to travel as an unaccompanied minor and the other does not. Cost is also a consideration and is often the reason why one parent might be pushing for the child to travel as an unaccompanied minor; because if the child does not travel as an unaccompanied minor then the cost of an adult travelling with the child will need to be factored in.
Ideally your orders should specify at what age you both agree your child will travel as an unaccompanied minor and whether there are any other additional considerations as already mentioned, such as only booking a direct flight and or not booking flights at night time.
Travel other than by Air
The same considerations apply if you are travelling by car or by train etc. Costs of travel can still be shared even with travel taking place by vehicle. If it is anticipated that children will be driving to spend time with the other parent it is courteous to let the other parent know about any driving arrangements, what route you will be taking, whether there will be an overnight stop, etc.
