LK v Director-General, Department of Community Services

Family Law – Children - Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations - Whether children habitually resident in convention country immediately before retention in Australia - Relevance of past and present intentions of each parent - Relevance of habitual residence of each parent - Weighting of relevant criteria - Appropriate time for determining habitual residence.

Family Law – Children - Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations - Meaning of "habitually resident" - "habitual residence" distinct from connecting factors of domicile or nationality - Whether intention decisive of habitual residence or whether consideration of wide variety of circumstances permitted - Relevance of a finding of "settled purpose" - Meaning of "settled purpose" - Whether parent ceased habitual residence in Israel without making a final decision not to return there.

International law – Treaties - Interpretation - Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction - Consistent construction of terms by courts of contracting states.

Words and phrases – "habitual residence", "habitually resident", "settled intention", "settled purpose", "wrongful retention".

Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) – s 111B(1).

Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations – regs 4, 15, 16(1A).

Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.