What is a parenting plan?
A parenting plan is a written agreement between separated parents that sets out how their children will be raised across two households. Under the Family Law Act 1975, a parenting plan must be in writing and signed and dated by both parents. It is not a court order, but a court will consider it in any later dispute — and it is far more useful than an oral agreement that each party later remembers differently.
A parenting plan is different from consent orders, which are court-approved and directly enforceable. Many families use a parenting plan as a starting point and later formalise it as consent orders once arrangements have settled.
The full template: what to cover section by section
1. Living arrangements
Specify where the children primarily live and describe the week-to-week routine clearly enough that there's no room for argument. Include:
- Which parent the child lives with during the school week
- Which parent has time at weekends and when
- How transitions happen — who drops off, who collects, at what time and where
- What happens if one parent is late or unavailable
Worked example: week on / week off
"[Child] will live with Parent A Sunday evening to Sunday evening in alternating weeks. Parent B will collect from school on the first day of their week and Parent A will collect at the end. If either parent is unable to collect, they will notify the other by 2pm that day and the other parent will collect instead."
2. Time with each parent
Detail regular time arrangements with enough specificity that both parents can follow the plan without needing to negotiate each week. Consider:
- Weekday and weekend routine during term time
- Before and after school arrangements
- How overnight stays are scheduled
- What happens when the child is sick
3. School holidays
School holidays are a common flashpoint. Set out exactly how each holiday period is divided — don't leave it as "to be agreed each time".
| Holiday period | Approach A (split evenly) | Approach B (alternating years) |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas | First half / second half alternating years | Parent A odd years, Parent B even years |
| Easter | Good Friday weekend / Easter Monday weekend alternating | Opposite to Christmas allocation |
| School term breaks | First week / second week each break | Alternating school holiday periods |
| Winter holidays | Split evenly, parents choose halves | Alternating years |
4. Special occasions
Specify what happens on birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and significant cultural or religious occasions. These are predictable pressure points — plan for them in advance.
5. Major decision-making
The Family Law Act distinguishes between day-to-day decisions (each parent makes these during their time) and long-term decisions about the child's welfare. Specify how you'll handle:
- Education — which school, subject choices, tutoring, extracurriculars
- Health — routine medical appointments, elective procedures, choice of doctor or dentist
- Religion and culture — religious upbringing and cultural practices
- Travel — interstate and overseas holidays, passport applications
- Name changes
Most plans provide for joint decision-making on major issues, with a process for resolving disagreement — such as mediation — before either parent can act unilaterally.
6. Communication between parents
Agree on how you'll communicate — about the children, not about each other. Many plans specify:
- Preferred channel (email, a co-parenting app, text)
- Expected response times for non-urgent matters
- How to handle urgent or emergency communication
- Whether a parent can contact the children during the other's time, and how
7. Travel and relocation
Address domestic and international travel separately. For overseas travel, specify notice periods, passport arrangements, and what documentation the travelling parent will carry. Relocation — one parent moving significantly further away — is one of the most contested issues in family law. Even if it seems unlikely now, consider including a process for how it would be handled.
8. Changeover arrangements
Specify exactly where and when changeovers happen. "At school" is clearer and lower-conflict than "at the front door". Include a fallback: what happens if a parent is more than 30 minutes late?
9. Dispute resolution
Include a clause committing both parents to return to mediation before escalating any dispute to court. This is one of the most valuable provisions in any parenting plan — it keeps minor disagreements from becoming expensive litigation.
10. Review and variation
Children's needs change. Build in a scheduled review — annually, or when a child changes school — and agree on a process for proposing changes. A plan that can be updated by agreement is far more durable than one that can only be changed through court.
Parenting plan vs consent orders: which do you need?
| Parenting plan | Consent orders | |
|---|---|---|
| Legally binding | No — but courts consider it | Yes — directly enforceable |
| Court involvement | None | Registered with court (no hearing) |
| Flexibility to vary | High — by agreement | Lower — requires consent or court order |
| Cost | Lower | Slightly higher (court filing fee) |
| Best for | Early-stage, cooperative arrangements | Where you want certainty and enforceability |
Common mistakes in parenting plans
- Too vague — "reasonable time with each parent" sounds flexible but causes constant negotiation and disputes.
- No holiday detail — leaving holidays as "to be agreed" is the most common source of conflict.
- No changeover specifics — ambiguity about time and place breeds conflict at handover.
- Forgetting the children's activities — who drives to sport, who pays for extracurriculars, what happens when activities conflict with changeover?
- No review mechanism — a plan written when a child is 4 won't suit a teenager.
How mediation helps you build a better plan
A mediator doesn't draft the plan for you — they help you and the other parent work through each section together, drawing out the details that matter, surfacing disagreements early, and finding workable solutions. The result is a plan both parents have genuinely agreed to, which is what makes it last. See parenting plan mediation →