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 a child aged 9 years whose parents had a long history of litigation.  Both parents sought new orders in their own favour.  An order for shared care was in place, but the father...

There was dispute about the admissibility of a family report prepared by an expert when interim parenting orders were requested.  An ICL can tender a report from one expert assessor without a Court’s permission, whereas parties...

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...

The case involved a child aged 13 years whose parents had separated when she was aged 8 years, where the parents engaged in ongoing conflict (high conflict couple).  Final orders had been made for the child...

The case involved children who lived with their father and spent supervised contact with their mother.  Both the children and father saw separate treating psychologists.  A single expert witness had reviewed extensive material and had spoken...

The judge found that an assessment of risk comprises two elements – the first requires prediction of the likelihood of occurrence of harmful events, and the second requires consideration of the severity of impact caused by those events.  ...Read More

The case involved a boy aged 17 years and a girl aged 14 years whose parents had separated.  When visiting the father, the girl told the father that she had been involved in sexual abuse by her...

A father applied to have unsupervised access with his child aged 6 years.  The father submitted reports from two assessing psychologists in support of his application. A report by one psychologist indicated that the father “does not...

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...

The judge found that for a shared care arrangement (co-parent) to be considered viable, parents need to have the capacity to communicate, to resolve conflict, to have a modicum of trust and respect for the other...

The judge found that a child aged 16.5 years met the Gillick criteria of competence to make an informed decision (capacity to decide) about a proposed medical treatment as an assessor found that the child: demonstrated...

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 judge found that a father’s inspections and monitoring of the child and demands for an explanation for every mark or scrape are not only inappropriate but also obsessive and amounted to emotional abuse (personality rigid, parenting style rigid).  ...Read More

The judge ruled that even when a high conflict couple display intractable conflict where the parents continue with polarised attitudes, children should have the benefit of each of their polarized parents having input into the major long...

A child aged 5 years displayed disturbed and defiant behaviours that both parents found difficult to manage (child’s behaviour).  The parents had parenting styles that differed (parenting styles differ) and held different views about the cause of...

A boy aged 7 years had lived with his mother with no contact with the father for 2 years.  The mother had been diagnosed with PTSD and depression and evidence was presented that the mother could...

The case involved a dispute between parents and maternal grandparents of children aged 9 and 7 years.  Contact between the children and grandparents ended following a dispute.  Five years later the grandparents applied to spend time...

Both parents migrated to Australia.  The parents separated when their child was aged 2 years, and the father did not see the child for the next 4 years, in part because the mother travelled overseas.  The...

The case involved a family with five children aged between the ages of 11 and 19 years (sibling relationship). The court found that bad language used by siblings, and a few incidents involving knives, was a...

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...

The case involved a boy aged nearly 12 years who had lived in a shared care arrangement between both parents.  The parents had prolonged arguments before court about the boy since he was aged 6 months...

The father left the mother and later established a new relationship (re-partnered).  The father then applied for his 10 year old daughter to live with him although she would be separated from her two older siblings...

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...

The court found that the separation of siblings very close in age who have lived together for a long time is a most serious step which could only be justified in compelling circumstances (sibling separation).  ...Read More

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...

Parents separated after a child was born, and the mother moved with the child to live with her parents.  There was entrenched conflict between the father and maternal family (intractable conflict).  The mother then contracted cancer...

The paternal grandparents of a child aged 5 years withheld the child from the mother after a visit, alleging that the mother engaged in alcohol abuse.  The grandparents were further concerned as the maternal grandmother lived with...

A boy lived with his parents until he was aged 4 years and then lived with his maternal grandmother.  After 8 years the grandmother applied for formalise the arrangement.  The father had maintained weekly contact with...

There was a dispute between a grandparent of a girl aged 3 years after her mother died of a heart attack and the father was involved in criminal charges.  The child lived with the paternal grandparents and...

At the request of a mother, a judge issued a specific order that the father be restrained from leaving his child aged 4 years in the sole care of his family members (restrained from contact with...

The case involved a dispute over care of a 10 year old child who had experienced significant physical health problems before the dispute. The mother had a previous history of depression and had expressed suicidal ideation...

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 father applied for unsupervised access of his two children who were a daughter aged 12 years and a son aged 9 years following several years when access had been supervised due to an unsubstantiated allegation...

An expert described an attachment bond as a psychological bond between a child and a primary carer in which the child looks to the carer for comfort and soothing in times of stress and anxiety. The expert...

A mother left the father when the child was aged 6 months and moved to a distant location overseas (relocate).  The parents disputed residence of the child.  When the child was aged 5 years a judge...

A mother left the father when twins were aged 6 weeks old, moving into a Women’s Shelter and alleging family violence.  The father denied the domestic violence and claimed that the mother had used him to obtain...

A couple with an infant separated. Overnight stays The father applied to begin overnight stays for one night at a time when the child was aged 2 years and this was supported by a family consultant...

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...

The case involved two children aged 7 and 4 years.  The father applied for the children to live with him and to be cared for by his parents while he was at work. The husband had...

Four children aged 13, 12, 7 and 5 years had lived with their mother and spent time with their father.  The father then informed police that he had explosives in his house, leading to a siege...

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...

Evidence was given that a father had on many occasions assaulted his 12 year old daughter who he described as being headstrong, leaving bruises with one incident that resulted in a conviction for assault. The judge...

A child aged 10 years at the final hearing had lived in a shared care arrangement with both parents, then lived with her father and spent time with her mother and sisters. The mother had persistently...

A family consultant reported that a vicious circle of hostility had been set up for a child as both the mother was unaware that her emotional sensitivity and hostility impacted on handovers, and the father did not...

A trial judge accepted an assessment by a consultant that a father had an inappropriate relationship with his daughter aged 11 years as he talked to her about everything, he confided in her in many topics...

The case involved a 6 year old boy whose parents had separated when he was aged 17 months, who then lived with his mother.   The mother re-partnered when the boy was 2 years old.  The mother...

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 case involved parents of two girls aged 11 and 10 years.  The mother had an older daughter aged 19 years from a different relationship.  The parents separated after the 19 year old girl reported that the...

Parents of a 10 year old boy disputed arrangements, and the father alleged that the mother had alienated the child from him.  Evidence was given that the boy’s relationship with the father changed starkly during proceedings...

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...

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 divorced with daughters aged 10 and 8 years.  The father had been the breadwinner while the mother cared for the children.  The mother alleged the father had shown disinterest in the children and had...

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...

The parents separated after 3 years of living together and had a daughter aged 6 years who had been living with her mother. When the child was aged 20 months the mother reported that the daughter...

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...

The case involved separated parents with three children: LD aged 5yr 9mo, WDW aged 2yr 9mon and KD aged 1yr 6months.  The parents separated and lived for a period in different states, with the father visiting...

The case involved parents who lived together with four children: MD aged 6.5 years, AD aged 4 years, ND aged 2.25 years and SD aged 4 months.   All four children had been removed from the parents’...

The couple had twins aged 6 years at the time of the hearings.  The couple separated when the twins were 7 months old, and the twins lived with the mother and spent time with the father. ...

A mother who had lived with the father in England appealed against an order requiring her to return to England with her two young children.  The mother reported that she had been subjected to verbal and...

Parents disputed arrangements for three children aged 11, 7 and 6 years.  The mother gave evidence that the father had not attended for 46 of 50 arranged visits (parental attitude).  The father noted that his own...

A trial judge ordered that three children aged 12, 10 and 9 years live with their mother and have overnight access with their father only if the father provides the mother with a report by a...

An 8 year old child had not spent time with the father for a long period after the mother withheld the child from the father.  A consultant reported that the mother engaged in many behaviours that...

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...

A judge drew attention to Rule 6.08(1) of the Family Law Rules 2004 that provided for a person with a disability due to a physical or mental disorder to be represented by a case guardian if...

A child aged 6 years had lived with the mother for 5 years.  A psychiatrist gave evidence that the mother met 7 of 9 criteria for  borderline personality disorder, and recommended psychological therapy (personality emotionally volatile). ...

The case involved an application to review an order by one judge to allow a father to re-open a case due to changed circumstances.  The couple had lived together for 23 days and produced a son. ...

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...

A trial judge ordered that a 5 year old child live with the mother and spend time with the father.  There was a further order that if the mother’s treating psychiatrist determined that the mother was...

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...

The case involved a girl aged 5 years.  The mother had a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa that was in remission, and she was in a new relationship she found to be supportive (re-partnered).  The judge found...

A child was born after the couple had a very brief relationship, and the child was never raised jointly by the two parents.  Both parents were socially vulnerable, and neither had worked recently.  The parents lived...

The case involved a father who had suffered severe brain damage following an MVA, was classified as being permanently impaired, and received a pension (parental disability).  The father was considered to be unable to understand the...

Separated parents had five children.  The father was diagnosed with mild intellectual disability and received a disability support pension.  An assessor reported that the father could read single words, became over-whelmed by large amounts of information,...

Parents separated when the child was aged 9 months.  The child lived with the mother and did not see the father for the next year, and then commenced fortnightly visits at a contact centre.  The child...

The case involved a child aged 7 years who was reluctant to visit her father (reluctant to contact).  A child protection service had assessed the family and found no current concerns about child protection although there...

A child aged 6 years lived with the maternal grandparents.  The mother had disengaged from both her parents and the child.  The father had not seen the child for 6 years and the child did not...

The mother had a history of making allegations against various people, including against the father, with one conviction being recorded.  The parents made counter-allegations of violence and abuse.  A consultant reported that the mother apparently gained...

The case involved a couple who were together in a happy relationship for 18 years, with a daughter born two years into the marriage.   The wife subsequently became pregnant with twins, with one twin dying in...

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...

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...

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...

Both parents requested reviews of an interim order.  A child aged 4.5 years had lived with his father for four years after the mother left the family.  A judicial officer issued an interim order for the...

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 case involved an appeal by a mother that a decision by a trial judge concerning an assessment of unacceptable risk of harm to a child from the father’s substance use was flawed. A child aged...

It was agreed in a consent order that the father be restrained from alcohol use and restrained from use of illicit substances for 12 hours prior to receiving his children into his care.  ...Read More

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 judge ordered that a child live with the mother and that unsupervised visits with the father commence only when the father was able to provide evidence of meeting three conditions: the father had undertaken continuous...

A couple were married for 4 years before separation, with 2 children aged 10 and 7 years.   Both parents had re-married. One daughter had special needs due to a global developmental delay, and she received regular...

Both parents made reciprocal allegations (mutual accusations) that the other had abused their children aged 8 and 9 years.  The mother alleged that the father sexually abused the children by actions outlined below.  The father alleged...

Parents separated and initially agreed about access arrangements for their child.  On four occasions the mother withheld the child from the father.  The mother then alleged that the father had sexually abused the child and this...

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...