A recent dispute in Victoria has centred around the parent’s inability to agree on the surname for their child.

It resulted in the Victorian Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages last year assigning a surname using both parents surnames hyphenated in alphabetical order, with the mother’s first and father’s second.

The father took the case to the Victorian civil and administrative tribunal, which last week upheld the original decision and found the policy of using both names in alphabetical order reasonable and appropriate.

The child is not in the custody of either mother or father.

It is important in legal proceedings to act proportionately and reasonably.