attachment

A maternal grandmother had cared for a child aged 3 years since birth as the mother and father were unable to care for the child full-time due to their work commitments.  The child was securely attached to the grandmother. The maternal...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

An assessor described a 13 year old child as having developed an atypical form of anxious-avoidant attachment style, meaning that the child had responded to the lack of adult responsiveness to his needs by becoming self-reliant. ...

The mother was the primary attachment figure for four children aged between 4 and 9 years.  Allegations of physical and sexual abuse of the children were made against the mother’s new husband.  The children alleged that the step-father...

The mother of four children appealed a decision by the judge to place two younger boys aged 7 and 8 years with their father and older brother, while a girl was placed with the mother.  The...

The case involved children aged 12 and 8 years who had lived with the mother.  The older child expressed a desire to live with the father while the younger child wanted to continue living with the mother. ...

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 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...

A maternal grandmother applied that children aged 3 and 5 years live with her and that she share in parental responsibility along with the parents (grandparent).  The grandmother had been significantly involved with both children since...

Children were aged 8 years, 6 years and 18 months.  The children showed a stronger attachment to the mother as illustrated after they had been separated from the mother for a period of ten days. 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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

A mother left a relationship when the son was aged 6 months and moved to a distant location overseas. The judge ordered a shared care arrangement where the boy was to live with his mother and to spend...

Parents separated when the child was 3 weeks old, and the hearing was held while the child was an infant.  The mother asserted that she had no support network in the city and applied to relocate...

The case involved a girl aged 5 years born of Samoan parents.  The girl was promised or gifted to a married relative who did not have children under a cultural practice similar to adoption known as...

Shared Time for Infants A policy document by the Australian Association for Infant Mental Health Inc. provides guidelines for the following situations: overnight stays for infants under 2 years away from a primary caregivers can create...