If the parents can agree on where the children will live and the visitation schedule of the other parent, then either a parenting plan or consent orders should be entered into.
Parenting plans are written agreements that set out the arrangements for the children. They include details about where the children will live, what days they will spend with the other parent, what will happen during school holidays and special events such as Christmas and birthdays and any other matter relevant to the co-parenting of the child.
A parenting plan is not a legally enforceable document.
To draft a parenting plan appropriately, you can refer to section 63C of the Family Law Act 1975.
If you complete an application for consent orders and attach a copy of your parenting plan, you could then have the parenting plan approved by the court as a Consent Order.
This is a legally enforceable agreement and holds the same weight as a Parenting Order made by the Court after a hearing.
Parenting plans are often entered into after negotiations between solicitors or after a successful mediation; however, as experienced child custody lawyers, we always recommended that this agreement be submitted to the courts for the purposes of making it an enforceable agreement.