maturity

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 request by a girl aged 14 years 7 months to spend time with both parents differed markedly from the proposals made by both parents.  The girl recognised that her mother might be reluctant to agree...

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...

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 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...

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 judge discussed the weight to give to the expressed wishes of a girl aged 9 years to live with her mother (child’s wishes).  The judge found the girl to be of above average intelligence and...

A judge found that a child aged 10 years wanted to stay with his mother as there were more games at her house, and described this as the child responding in an immature way to a...

Parents disputed arrangements for a 10 year old child.  The father proposed orders that the judge considered would amount to micro-management of parenting, including a formula for extracurricula activities, and a request that medical and dental...

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 mother applied to change a final order that had been made three years earlier involving a child now aged 7 years.  The final orders were that the child live with the father and spend supervised...

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...

Legislation in Australia allows people to apply for three types of intervention that affect family members: a parenting order from a Family Law Court (Family Circuit Court) a child protection order from a Children’s Court an...