family consultant

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...

One party wanted to submit statements from witnesses whose evidence was not an affidavit and was not in the form of a statement.  The judge considered that a statement by one doctor was intended to contract evidence from...

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...

An assessment by a family consultant raised serious questions about the parenting capacity of both parents of children aged 6 and 7 years.  The consultant recommended that the child protection department be invited to intervene if concerns were...

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...

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 mother held a genuine strong belief that the father had sexually abused his stepdaughter (the mother’s daughter) when aged 13 years, but the father had been found not guilty in criminal proceedings.   The father had two children aged 7 and...

The mother of a 7 year old child sought to reduce the time the child spent with the father pending an updated Family Report.  The mother also sought to disqualify the family consultant on the grounds of apprehension of...

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 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 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...

Four children were involved, born of two fathers.  The applicant was father of the youngest child aged 10 years, and he had acted as a father-figure for all four children for 7 years when the couple...

The case involved a child aged 5 years.  The judge found that while it is standard practice for a family consultant to observe interactions between a child and parent following interviews, the consultant has discretion about...

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...

Four children had lived with their mother since separation and had recently recommenced spending time with their father.  The mother alleged significant and sustained physical and sexual abuse against both herself and the children but the father denied...

An expert who provided reportable therapy had provided a treatment report to Court although the report had not been requested by court.  The mother asked that a family consultant also be appointed as the treatment report did not address...

A mother appealed an order saying that a family report prepared by a family consultant had not addressed all of the concerns raised by the mother.  The judge had suggested that some allegations raised by the mother...

A lawyer representing a father applied for two reports prepared by a family consultant to be set aside and for the family consultant to be discharged as the reports were not independent. The judge found that...

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 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 child aged 7 years with a diagnosis of mild autism lived with his mother and spent time with his father (autism spectrum disorder). The father applied for an access plan to increase his time with the child....

The mother began an intimate relationship with her first partner when aged 16 years producing her first child (young parent).  When the relationship ended both parents were teenagers and both returned to live with their own...

The Court appointed a family consultant to provide a family report.  The father alleged that the family report contained factual inaccuracies and biases and linked this to the consultant’s religious beliefs, and submitted a request to...

The case involved an infant aged 15 months whose parents separated when the infant was aged 2 weeks, and where the parents lived in different states.  The infant barely recognised the father during the hearing and...

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...

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 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...

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...

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 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 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 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...

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...

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 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 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...

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...

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...

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....

The case involved a child aged 10 years who had by consent been living with the mother and spending time with the father.  The father applied for a change in orders for the child to live...

The case involved an 8 year old boy where there was dispute between the parents about access times. Child’s Wishes The boy spoke to a family consultant about the fairness of his spending time with the...

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...

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 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 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 father wanted to increase time with his two children aged 15 years and 10.5 years while the children preferred the status quo.  The mother agreed to the children’s time with the father increasing by one...

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)....

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...

The mother had obtained work in an overseas country and had relocated with the young child to that country by consent for 2 years.  The child travelled to see the father each month for two years. ...

Two brothers aged 14 years and 11 years 3 months lived with their mother and expressed a wish to live with their father, with the mother opposing their wish (child’s wishes). Evidence was given that the...

Parents had a daughter aged 11 years at the time of the hearing.  The mother left the daughter in the care of her father who lived in the USA.  The parents disputed care of the daughter...

A judge ordered a progressive increase (graduated approach) in the number of overnight stays with her father from 1 to 2 overnight stays when the child reached the age of about 2 years (age of child). ...

The case involved a girl aged 12 years whose parents had engaged in legal disputes for most of her life.  The girl lived with her father.  The mother asked the judge to change a final order...

A father taped an interview with a family consultant without consent and asked that the tape be admissible evidence.  The father argued that the family consultant was biased against him (partisan), and that the tape would...

A family consultant provided a report when a mother applied to relocate with a child aged 7 years.  The mother submitted information from an assessing psychologist who had provided counselling therapy, where this information was provided in...

A couple disputed parenting orders, with the father alleging neglect while the child had been in the care of the mother, and the mother alleging family violence by the father (mutual accusations).  The mother and her...

A mother appealed rulings made by a trial judge that required the mother to return with two children after she had relocated inter-state to be nearer to family supports. Expert Evidence A family consultant had reported,...

The judge reported he gained an impression that the family consultant was significantly influenced by knowing that the mother had a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, and was influenced by research findings about people with anorexia nervosa,...

Evidence was accepted from a family consultant although the consultant had not interviewed the children involved, and did not observe interactions between the children and parents.  The consultant had conducted a mediation session with parents to...

A trial judge ordered parties to attend an appointment with a family consultant.  One party wanted to be legally represented during interviews with the family consultant, but the family consultant declined to proceed under this arrangement. ...

A father appealed against a decision by a judge allowing a mother to relocate to another country taking an 11 year old child.  Evidence was presented including by the family consultant that the father consumed both...

A solicitor for a mother had provided material to a family consultant without the joint agreement of both parties so the father was not informed about the material and did not have an opportunity to respond...

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 judge requested that a family consultant be nominated to supervise compliance with parenting orders, or to provide case management or parent coordination....Read More

After separation a mother wanted to relocate to another city where she would receive support from her extended family and would be better off financially. The father wanted to remain in the same city where he...

A mother applied to relocate to another city with her child so that she could re-partner.  The mother gave evidence that she would be devastated if she was unable to relocate, and she would be physically...

A judge made orders that did not allow children aged 11 and 7 years to spend time with their father (restrained from contact).  The father appealed. Evidence had been presented about various incidents involving the father. ...

A couple with eight children separated when three children were under the age of 18 years.  The mother was a fourth generation member of a church that functioned as a closed community.  The father left both...

COAG – Levels of Parenting The Council of Australian Governments COAG considered child protection matters in 2009 after state governments expressed concern about the increasing numbers of children being removed from the care of their birth...