parental responsibility

The mother of children aged 10 and 7 years was in her third long term relationship.  The first relationship commenced when she was aged 18 years and produced 3 children.  The second relationship commenced when the mother was...

A child aged 11 years was emotionally distressed and the parents disputed the reasons for this distress.  The mother reported that the child suffered violent and unpredictable mood changes when he would attack the mother verbally and would become abusive...

The applicant was not the biological parent of one of the children (non-parent) aged 9 and 7 years.  The applicant sought continuation of the existing parenting regime so that both children would continue to live primarily with...

The case involved a child aged 12 years whose parents had been in litigation for 6 years. The mother applied for the child to live with her although the child had consistently expressed a strong wish to live with the father and to spend...

Paternal grandparents applied for orders to spend time with the parties’ younger children who were twin boys aged 8 years.  Six months after the paternal grandparents had commenced spending regular time with the children, the father applied also to spend time...

The case involved five children who had been placed on the Magellan list due to allegations of sexual abuse and family violence.  The father had a considerable criminal record and had a demonstrated predilection towards having sexual relationships...

Children aged 9 and 5 years spent no time with the father for four years after the parents separated (long absent parent), and the mother applied for sole parental responsibility.   The father applied for a therapeutic re-introduction of the...

The case involved a father who had a history of erratic supervised visits (contact limited involvement).  The child had been referred to the child protection Department.  The ICL submitted that it was difficult to conclude that...

Dispute involved three children aged 17, 16 and 13 years.  Two older girls lived with the mother and the younger child had lived with the father for about a year.  The judge found that the father was...

The case involved two children, one aged 4 years who lived with the father, and the second aged 18 months who lived with the mother and maternal grandmother.  The judge found that the mother’s environment posed a...

A child aged 6 years had very significant disabilities, and the father had spent almost no time with the child in the past 6 years (long absent parent). The father was critical of the mother’s parenting, but his...

  A child aged 2 years had lived primarily with the father since separation, and the mother applied for the child to live with her for equal time.  When the relationship ended the father withheld the child and the...

Four boys aged 14, 12, 11 and 7 years had lived with the father for two years following separation.  The youngest child had moved to live with the mother for eight months while the three older children continued to...

The father submitted that the mother had a mental illness of schizophrenia; that she had been admitted to hospital for this; that she consumed excessive alcohol; and that she became violent and abusive towards the child. The mother alleged that the father had...

The case involved an infant aged 1 year whose parents were from the Tongan culture.  Before the child’s birth the biological parents had agreed to transfer parental responsibility to the applicants who were non-parents, and this...

A father of children aged 9 and 11 years applied for the children to live with him.  The father gave evidence that the mother and her new partner had smoked cannabis from a bong, that the...