anxiety

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...

For three years after separation, children aged 15, 12 and 10 years had at the mother’s insistence spent time with the father only at the mother’s house.  The mother then severed all of the children’s interaction with...

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...

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. ...

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...

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 mother of a child aged 4 years at the time of the hearing had been subjected to intense and long term verbal abuse.  The mother applied to relocate to be with her extended family and to provide some relief...

The case involved children who were at different developmental stages, being aged nearly 4 years and 9 years.  Little difference was found in the parenting capacity of each of the parents. The family consultant opined that the fact that one...

  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...

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...

Orders were made for a child aged 4 years to live with the father and spend time with the mother.  Two years later the mother applied to reverse the orders so that she became the primary...

The case involved a girl aged 12 years whose parents had been in ongoing conflict since they separated when she was aged 5 years (intractable conflict).  The child was described as mature. The judge noted there...

The father of a girl aged 5 years who acknowledged frequently watching adult pornography was found to have 518 images of child pornography on his computer.  The images were rated using a COPINE scale that showed...

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....

The case involved two children aged 13 and 17 years who both showed high levels of anxiety.  The older child had suffered glandular fever for some years.  The father was assessed as having anxiety, and had been...

The father sought supervised time with children aged 9 and 6 years.   The mother alleged family violence and asked that the father have no direct contact with the children.   The children had witnessed an incident when...

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 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...

Parents of children aged 9 and 4 years separated.  The father re-partnered.   Soon after the mother reported that the children exhibited increased anxiety and the mother withheld the children.  The mother demanded that the father participate...

The child was aged 6 years at the time of the hearing, and had been previously cared for by the mother, father and paternal grandmother.  The mother was aged 16 years when the child was born,...

The case involved a father who admitted using pornography but denied any suggestion of using child pornography.   The father had been acquitted of a charge of sexual misconduct involving his niece.  An allegation had been made...

A mother considered that children aged 9 and 6 years had been exposed to sexual abuse by the father. The parents agreed on a single expert witness to conduct a family report.  The expert concluded that...

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 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...

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 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...

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 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...

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 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...

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...

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 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 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...

Parents of children aged 9 and 7 years lived interstate after their separation.  The mother was the primary carer.  The end of the relationship was traumatic for the mother, and the mother’s distress was evident to...

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 father appealed an order that an 11 year old boy live with the mother and spend time with the father.  The judge found that the parents were unable to cooperate and that ongoing litigation had...

The Family Law Act refers to ‘reasonable grounds to believe.’  The judge found that facts that provide reasonable grounds for a suspicion or belief do not lead to a positive finding of abuse or violence. Probability...

When the parents lived together the mother had been unable to cope with her young daughter while the father worked, resulting in the couple separating and in an order for the child to live with the...

The case involved an appeal by a mother of a 6 year old girl against a ruling by a trial judge who found that the risk of sexual abuse did not pass the test of an...

On the first day of a trial a mother asked that the trial be adjourned because of her medical condition.  The mother was asked to provide a full medical report about her condition.  The mother responded...

After parents separated a child lived with the mother and spent time with the father who lived with a male companion.  The mother alleged that the child was sexually abused and withheld the child from the...

The case involved an appeal by the mother where she was found to have contravened an orders without reasonable excuse.  The mother’s treating psychiatrist gave evidence that the mother had been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, with...

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...

A couple had 4 children, KB aged 7 years, TG aged 3 years and twins WB and JB aged 9 months.  The mother had two older children who were on child protection orders and who lived...