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Parents had separated 7 years earlier.  A trial judge found that the father of children aged 12 and 10 years had engaged in a pattern of emotionally abusive behaviour that undermined the children’s relationships with their mother, and...

Children aged 9 and 7 years who were of Aboriginal and South Sea Islander heritage lived with their mother.  Both the paternal grandmother and her late husband had extensive involvement in the Indigenous and South Sea...

Evidence was given that a mother experienced post-traumatic stress disorder which she attributed entirely to the actions of the father as he had been emotionally controlling and abusive towards her.  The father denied that events described by the mother took place. ...

A child aged 12 years had special needs due to mild cerebral palsy, mild intellectual disability and epilepsy.   The father had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  The child was in the primary care of the mother.  The...

A mother alleged that the father had sexually abused an older daughter of the mother from another relationship when that child was aged 8 years. The mother also alleged that the father was unable to control his anger without...

The case involved a child aged 3 years who lived with the mother and spent time with the father, where the parents had separated a year earlier.  The father alleged that the child was at risk...

  Concepts used in family law courts to describe personalities of parents who brought a dispute to Court were studied, based on a sample of cases summarised in Complexfamilies. Concepts to Describe Personality The DSM-5 international system for classifying...

This article first describes traditional concepts about parenting styles, and then reports a study of parenting styles that are seen in a family law context. TRADITIONAL CONCEPTS OF PARENTING STYLE Researchers distinguish different broad approaches for...

Children aged 8 and 6 years lived with their mother after separation.  The mother and maternal grandparents refused to allow the children to spend time with their father despite orders to permit this.  The mother put...

A judge was asked to rule on whether courts have the power when granting long term orders to require that siblings be placed together, an issue that was raised with two families involving 5 and 3...

A judge ordered that each parent may phone to communicate with their four children while the children were in the care of the other parent, and that each parent take reasonable steps to provide privacy for...

A couple separated and had a son aged 7 years at the time of the hearing.  The mother re-partnered. The child lived with the mother and spent time with the father.  The father requested sole parental...

A 12 year old boy had lived with his mother for 18 months and then was ordered to live with his father and to spend time with his mother.  The mother appealed saying that the judge...

A couple lived together for about 2 years and had a child aged 7 years at the time of the hearing. The child had been in the custody of the mother until she had a detained...

The father had arrived in Australia on a visitor’s visa and sought a visa for permanent residency.  The father had been in relationships with two women (Ms A & Ms D) within a 2 year period and...

A couple had three children aged 10, 9 and 8 years.  Interim orders had been made for the children to live with the father and to spend time with the mother.  When the case was reviewed...

The child protection Department appealed a ruling by a trial judge to grant a further 12 month order when the Department had applied for the child aged 10 years to be placed in the Guardianship of...

A mother applied to relocate to another city with her child so that she could re-partner.  The mother gave evidence that she would be devastated if she was unable to relocate, and she would be physically...

The case involved children aged 10 and 5 years who had lived with their father for 2 years and had supervised access with their mother.  The trial judge heard evidence that the mother had abused both prescription...

A couple lived together for a short time and had a son aged 18 months when the case went to court.  The mother had a second child aged 6 years from a previous relationship. The mother...