sole 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 judge found that the father’s text messages to the mother were derogatory, intimidating and threatening and constituted family violence against her and that the father must desist from this behaviour (emotional abuse).  The judge found that granting...

There was an order for a child aged 9 years to live with the mother, to spend time with the father, and for the father to use his best endeavours to have the child attend sporting...

A child was aged 3 years.  The father was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder and an expert opined that the father remained at risk of relapse.  The father had been charged with fighting.  The father reported...

A child aged 9 years was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and both parents agreed that the child required a high degree of structure, predictability and consistency in her daily routines.  The child had previously lived with the...

The mother was estimated to have a mild-moderate intellectual disability, and received a disability pension.  The judge found that the mother did not have the parenting capacity to care for the child without assistance that was provided by...

Both parties wanted to restrict the child’s relationship with the other to occasional supervised visits, either temporarily or permanently.  It was common ground that the mother had refused to allow the child to spend any time with...

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...

A child aged 10 years had spent limited time with the father, and the mother alleged the child was at risk of harm in the father’s care as family violence had occurred during their brief relationship.  The...

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...

  There were two children of a relationship aged 14 and 11 years.  The mother requested that the younger child primarily live with her and that she have sole parental responsibility for him, but the father sought...

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...

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...

A judge found that a father posed an unacceptable risk of abuse of his four children aged between 14 and 7 years, both emotionally and sexually.  The judge ordered that the children live with the mother...

A paternal grandmother commenced proceedings that resulted in a judge ordering two children aged 9 and 7 years to live with the paternal grandmother and to spend time with the mother.  The grandmother was delegated sole parental responsibility...

A child aged 13 years had been subject to a hearing 7 years before.  Reports had been received from three psychiatrists who recommended that the boy live with the father and that the father have sole...

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...

The case involved a non-parent who applied for care of four children aged 1 to 6 years as the children had lived with her for 6-9 months.  The applicant was a friend of the mother.  Both parents reclaimed...

A mother of children aged 7 and 5 years who lived with the mother was described as being very caring towards the children, and as being a devoted, patient and understanding parent.  The mother had excluded...

A mother was raised as Christian by her parents who had worked as missionaries.  The mother converted to Islam and met a partner who considered her to be a devout Muslim.  The couple married and had two...

The case involved a child aged 10 years who had lived with the maternal grandparent since infancy when the parents separated.  The father ceased contact when the child was aged 3 years.  The mother died when...

Three children including twins aged 6 years and a 3 year old infant had always lived in the primary care of the mother.  The father worked rostered shift work and he was an untested primary carer....

A father of a 4 year old child was self-represented and conducted proceedings in such a persistent manner that the judge concluded that the father had single mindedly pursued his entitlements with a result that the...

The case involved a 14 year old who felt hopeless due to the ongoing conflict over him between the parents that had continued since the parents finally separated four years earlier.  The boy lived with the...

The children were aged 15 and 13 years.  The father was convicted of assault on the older child who subsequently did not want to spend time with or communicate with the father.  The father claimed that...

Three children were involved aged 17, 14 and 11 years.  The children had lived with the mother and spent time with the father.  Communication between the parents was poor to the extent the mother did not...

Children were X aged 16 years who had Downs Syndrome (child’s disorder) and Y aged 15 years.  Most recent orders had required the children to live with their father and to spend time with their mother. ...

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...

A mother was ordered to have supervised access with her child aged 13 years but she found it too difficult to meet conditions set by a contact centre.  The mother had alleged sexual abuse of the...

A child aged 7 years who lived with the mother refused to continue to spend supervised time with her father, and no contacts had been arranged for a year despite efforts (refused contact).   Both parents had...

The case involved three children aged 12, 11 and 8 years who lived with the mother and spent time with their father and his extended family at the house of a grandparent. Tensions arose over an...

  The case involved a boy aged 9 years who had lived with his mother.  The mother re-partnered and had two younger children.  The father expressed concern that the child was exposed to family violence in the...

  The parents separated before the child was born.  The child who was aged 7 years at the time of the hearing had lived with the mother for six years before a family court issued an...

A judge had ordered that children spend time with both separated parents, and that the mother have sole parental responsibility, with the father having contact supervised by an agency.  Supervised contact was ordered as the father...

A separated couple had 2 children aged 10 and 12 years. The children had been exposed to 5 years of bitter dispute between the parents. The mother alleged the father had a mental health condition that...

  A mother alleged that two girls aged 3 and 6 years had been subjected to sexual abuse by their father. The mother submitted 169 items of information to support her concerns. The judge found that,...

The case involved a child aged 13 years who was diagnosed with ADHD and who took Ritalin.  The child had been on a week-about shared care arrangement with both parents.  Both parents had re-partnered.  The mother...

The case involved parents of children aged 7 and 3 years.   Parents had been unable to make joint decisions on two major long term issues involving education and health care.  The mother wanted the children to attend...

The case involved a mother who was reluctant to acknowledge that her older child was exposed to a sufficiently grave risk that the mother needed to choose between protecting her child and have a continuing relationship...

The case involved a child aged 9 years who had been on a shared care arrangement for four years.  The mother was aged 18 years when the child was born, and the father left her to...

The case involved allegations that the father had participated in sexual abuse with children aged 7 and 6 years at the time of the hearing.  The parents separated after the mother expressed concern about the way the...

Parents had disputed custody of their child aged 10 years over 8 years, with 4 family reports having been obtained.  Both parents alleged that the child was at risk of harm while in the care of the...

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...

The case involved siblings who were separated, as one child aged 12 years initially lived with the father while twins aged 9 years lived with the mother (sibling separation). An expert reported that the father exhibited...

The mother left the father taking two children aged 6 and 5 years.  The older child was fathered by a second man who took no interest in the proceedings.  The parents lived 180km apart.  The father...

A trial judge ordered that a father have sole parental responsibility for a child aged 3 years, and that the child live with the father and spend time with the mother.  The mother was ordered to...

A couple had a daughter aged 3 years at the time of the hearing.  The couple was involved in a car accident that severely injured the father, resulting in his being hospitalised for 7 months and...

There was a dispute between both parents of boys aged 10 and 6 years and the paternal grandparents.  The parents had resolved that neither boy spend time with their grandparents following a series of incidents.  Incidents...

The case involved two boys, C aged 8 and T aged 4 years.  Ms J was the mother of both boys, from different fathers Mr T and Mr C.  The boys lived with their maternal grandparents ...

A boy aged 12 years had lived with his maternal grandmother from the age of 4 years, after his mother had abandoned him to participate in a drug-related lifestyle, and the mother had limited involvement in...

Two children aged 11 years and 9 years 10 months lived with their mother.  The father had no phone contact with the children for a year before the hearing (contact limited involvement), and declined to participate in...

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 couple cohabited for about ten years before separating, had two daughters aged 11 and 9 years at the time of the hearing, and had engaged in legal proceedings for 5 years after separation.  The father...

The children in the case were aged 11 and 8 years when the case concluded.  The family lived together until an incident occurred.  In the following year the children were reported to be very disturbed and...

The parents of a 6 year old girl had a shared care arrangement when the mother alleged that the child had been subject to sexual abuse by the father and paternal grandmother.  The mother applied for...

Parents had 3 children aged between 9 and 13 years.  Both parents had health worker qualifications.  There had been conflict before the court for 6 years with 3 final orders having been issued over time.  Each...

Two girls were aged 5 and 6 years.  The girls lived with their mother who had chronic schizophrenia and their grandmother.  The mother had a further child aged 14 years who lived with her father.  The...

Evidence was presented that the mother of a 9 year old boy had a long standing schizoaffective disorder following a post-partum psychosis, where the condition was managed by medication provided by a multi-disciplinary team, and that...

The case involved two children aged about 7 and 10 years at the time.  Two simultaneous expert reports indicated that the father had an obsessive personality disorder and that at times he became so completely preoccupied with...

Parents disputed arrangements for their son aged 9 years.  The father was diagnosed with hydrocephalus that impacted on his personality leading to a rigid and obsessive style of interacting with people (personality rigid).  This condition led...

Following their separation, a mother alleged that their child had been subject to sexual abuse by the father.  The child was aged 9 years at the time of later hearings. In an initial hearing the judge...

A couple had three daughters aged 12, 11 and 9 years.  After separation the mother had on several occasions phoned her daughters and asked them to write to the ICL to pass on their negative experiences...

Parents disputed arrangements for a 10 year girl who had lived with her mother and who objected to spending time with her father (reluctant to contact).  Evidence was presented that there was a history of family...

A mother become ill and transferred care of her child to a maternal aunt and her husband.  The mother died the following year and the father lodged a claim for care of the child.  The aunt...

The parents separated with a child aged 8 years.  The mother left the home with the child and moved to a secret location after alleging domestic violence and alcohol abuse by the father.  The mother was concerned...

A trial judge renewed orders that had previously granted unqualified sole parental responsibility to the mother by adding two conditions: first that two children participate in therapy to facilitate the children spending time with their paternal...

The trial judge ordered that the father have sole parental responsibility for a child, that the child live with the father and visit the mother at the discretion of the father.  The mother appealed the orders....

A mother alleged that she had been subjected to family violence and took two children aged 8 and 6 years to visit members of her extended family overseas.  The mother returned only because of a court...

The case involved a mother who appealed after her son decided not to spend time with the mother (reluctant to contact).  The mother had cared for the boy for his first 10 years, and an expert...

The case involved an appeal by a mother against orders made by a trial judge.  The couple separated after being together for 7 years and having two children.  In 2000 a judge ordered that the children...

The case involved three children aged 14, 12 and 8 years.  The trial judge ordered that parents have shared parental responsibility and that the children live primarily with their mother and spend time with the father.  The...

A trial judge granted sole parental responsibility to one parent and the other parent appealed.  The trial judge found that the two parents had not exchanged information and had not cooperated with each other or told...

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 separated having 2 children aged 11 and 10 years.  The parents agreed their children had observed one physical altercation when police were called.  The children initially spent time with the father while living with the mother. ...

A couple had a son aged 9 years at the time of judgement.  The couple had lived separately under the same roof for a period.   The father ceased being the earner for the household following a...

A couple had two children aged 7 and 5 years who had lived with the mother.  The mother had declined to facilitate contact with the father because of the father’s history of family violence including verbal...

A judge ordered that both parents have equal shared parental responsibility for their three children, except that the mother have sole parental responsibility to make decisions on delegated topics affecting the health of their children for...

A couple had an order for shared care. The mother then applied to relocate with three children aged 10, 8 and 5 years to a town 78km away. The trial judge allowed the relocation. The father...

A child lived with its parents until they separated when the child was aged 15 months, and then lived in an approximately equal time shared care arrangement until the child was aged 2 years 10 months,...

A judge ordered that parents have joint parental care for their 10 year old child, except that the mother have sole parental responsibility and care for health care and for decisions about the child’s music tuition...

Parents of a child aged 12 years had engaged in dispute about access for 7 years.  The child then expressed a strong view to several professionals that she no longer wanted contact with her father (child’s wishes)....

Parents had a son aged 10 years with special needs from cerebral palsy, and a daughter aged 7 years.  The judge awarded joint parental responsibility to both parents except that the mother have sole parental responsibility...

An order had been made for parents to have equal shared parental responsibility for a child aged 7 years who had special needs.  Evidence was presented that the parents were unable to make joint decisions about...

A mother applied for sole parental responsibility to make decisions both about the daily welfare and long-term issues on behalf of a 2.5 year old child, even while the child was living with the father, including arranging haircuts. ...

A couple had two children aged 13 and 7 years.  An initial order for shared care granted 9 days to the mother and 5 days to the father.  The mother applied for the order to be...

A couple with 3 children separated with the children living with their mother with a shared parental responsibility arrangement.   The father sought time with the children, and this was opposed by the mother. The mother alleged that the father...

A couple separated one year after having a daughter and then engaged in constant litigation and had been a high conflict couple for 4 years.  The mother alleged she had been subjected to family violence in the...

A couple had lived together for 13 years before separating and had 2 children aged 12 and 9 years.  They had been litigating for 4 years and disputed a range of topics including which school one...

The case involved an appeal against the procedure followed by a judge. The couple had a daughter who was aged about one year when the case was heard, who lived with the mother.   The couple had...

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...

Parents of children aged 12 and 10 years had been separated with an order granting the father fortnightly access that was supervised until the children were aged 12 years.  The father had displayed family violence by...