spend time

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...

The biological father of a child aged 15 years had undergone hormone therapy to re-assign his gender to female (gender change).  The father applied to spend time with the child although the child was found to be completely...

There was an order for a child aged 9 years to live with the mother, to spend time with the father, and for the father to use his best endeavours to have the child attend sporting...

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...

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...

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 applicant was not the biological parent of one of the children (non-parent) aged 9 and 7 years.  The applicant sought continuation of the existing parenting regime so that both children would continue to live primarily with...

The case involved a child aged 12 years whose parents had been in litigation for 6 years. The mother applied for the child to live with her although the child had consistently expressed a strong wish to live with the father and to spend...

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...

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...

  A trial judge made orders enabling the father to spend time with the children, conditional upon a number of factors including successful completion of a three month residential rehabilitation program and completion of parenting programmes.  The father...

  There were two children of a relationship aged 14 and 11 years.  The mother requested that the younger child primarily live with her and that she have sole parental responsibility for him, but the father sought...

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...

Four boys aged 14, 12, 11 and 7 years had lived with the father for two years following separation.  The youngest child had moved to live with the mother for eight months while the three older children continued to...

A child aged 5 years was ordered to live with the father and spend time with the mother.  The mother’s time with the child had previously been supervised.  The father withheld the child on two occasions, claiming...

Three children were involved born of two fathers.  The oldest child lived with its father and the two younger children had been removed from the mother at birth.  An issue was whether the maternal grandparents were...

The parents of children aged 13, 11 & 9 years had separated 7 years earlier.  The mother alleged that during the relationship the father had perpetrated family violence upon her, and that the children’s refusal to see or...

Children aged 11 and 8 years were reluctant to spend time with their mother, and the mother stated her strong belief that this occurred because the father did not support her relationship with the children, whereas the father counter-complained that...

There were interim consent orders for the child to live with the father and spend time with the mother.  Reports from the District Court showed that the mother’s new partner and fiancé had been convicted of multiple counts...

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...

When aged 14.5 years a girl had informed her father that she preferred to go to a party instead of spend time with him.  The mother suggested an alternative make-up time.  When the girl was 16...

A paternal grandmother commenced proceedings that resulted in a judge ordering two children aged 9 and 7 years to live with the paternal grandmother and to spend time with the mother.  The grandmother was delegated sole parental responsibility...

A presumed father was found by DNA not to be the biological parent of a child aged 5 years shortly before a trial.  The judge permitted the presumed father to continue his application as a person...

A mother alleged that the father assaulted her on the day she was discharged from a maternity hospital with twins.  Staff of the Department of Human Services stated they would remove the children if the mother did not...

The father of children aged 15 and 13 years alleged that his ex-partner’s new husband posed an unacceptable risk of sexual abuse as the new husband was on the sexual offenders register following an incident 7 years...

The mother of two children aged 6 and 2 years passed away following a car accident.  While both children had lived with the husband for several years he was the biological parent of only the younger child. ...

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. ...

A mother withheld a child as the child was ill and the father filed for a contravention a few days later. The Court ruled that for a person to have a reasonable excuse to withhold a...

A mother was raised as Christian by her parents who had worked as missionaries.  The mother converted to Islam and met a partner who considered her to be a devout Muslim.  The couple married and had two...

The case involved a child aged 10 years who had lived with the maternal grandparent since infancy when the parents separated.  The father ceased contact when the child was aged 3 years.  The mother died when...

After separating the mother of children aged 4 years and 7 months lived 32 kilometres from the father who saw his children every fortnight.  The father re-partnered and the mother had difficulty adjusting to his new...

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...

Parents of twins aged two years separated and the mother lived with her own parents and the children lived with the father.  The mother had been detained to a psychiatric hospital following the end of a...

A father of a 4 year old child was self-represented and conducted proceedings in such a persistent manner that the judge concluded that the father had single mindedly pursued his entitlements with a result that the...

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...

Parents of four children aged between 14 and 5 years had been in high conflict for some years.  The judge found that the father and paternal family had made 34 allegations to the child protection department...

Parents had been separated for five years and the children aged 16, 14 and 7 years lived with the mother.  All three children had decided against spending time with the father, with no contact for four...

The children were aged 15 and 13 years.  The father was convicted of assault on the older child who subsequently did not want to spend time with or communicate with the father.  The father claimed that...

The family included six children under the age of 15 years.  The children did not spend time with their father following incidents of family violence.  Two oldest children lived with the paternal grandfather, and the grandfather...

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...

Children were X aged 16 years who had Downs Syndrome (child’s disorder) and Y aged 15 years.  Most recent orders had required the children to live with their father and to spend time with their mother. ...

The case involved two children aged 14 and 12 years who lived with their mother and had no contact with their father for two years (contact limited).  The children had an older sister aged 19 years...

Children aged 15 years and 13 years had lived with their father and spent time with the father after the parents separated.  The mother then developed a dependence on the drug methamphetamine and associated with criminals...

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 case involved three children, one aged 14 and twins aged 12 years.  The oldest child had brought a knife to a handover and threatened to kill the father with the knife, saying that the father...

  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 separated when a child was aged 4 years.  The father acknowledged family violence including threats to kill both the mother and child.  A final order was made for the child to live with the mother...

The mother and her young adult daughter alleged that the father engaged in family violence.  Evidence was given that the parents were a high conflict couple who exposed the child aged ten years to their arguments...

A judge had ordered that children spend time with both separated parents, and that the mother have sole parental responsibility, with the father having contact supervised by an agency.  Supervised contact was ordered as the father...

Both parents migrated from Africa and separated after having a child aged 5 years.  Existing orders were that the child live with the mother and spend time with the father.  The father withheld the child after...

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...

A family arrived in Australia as asylum seekers with children aged 7 and 6 years.  The parents separated and the father was absent from the family for 2 months.  When the father returned he applied to...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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 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 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 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....

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...

A mother alleged that she had been subjected to family violence and took two children aged 8 and 6 years to visit members of her extended family overseas.  The mother returned only because of a court...

The case involved a mother who appealed after her son decided not to spend time with the mother (reluctant to contact).  The mother had cared for the boy for his first 10 years, and an expert...

The case involved three children aged 14, 12 and 8 years.  The trial judge ordered that parents have shared parental responsibility and that the children live primarily with their mother and spend time with the father.  The...

A mother joined for 11 months in a same sex relationship with another woman over the time when her child was born.  The pair separated, and the other woman sought an order for equal shared parental...

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...

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...

Children aged 12 and 10 years had lived with their mother and spent time with their father.  Both children told an assessor they would prefer to spend more time with their father (child’s wishes).  Both children...

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...

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 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 asked to review orders for his 3 year old daughter 15 months after orders were issued.  The father claimed changed circumstances saying that he had formed a new relationship (re-partnered), his daughter was of...

A mother alleged that the father had exposed three children to sexual abuse.  Independent assessments did not support this allegation.  The judge gave low weight to results of a psychometric test conducted by an assessing psychologist, but...

A trial judge ordered that a 5 year old child live with the mother and spend time with the father.  The father appealed seeking increased time. The trial judge had noted that entries in a communication...

The case involved a 13 year old girl whose parents had been in litigation for 10 years.  An order had been made for joint parental responsibility, with the child living with her mother and spending time...

Mellick & Mellick 2014 FamCAFC 236 A trial judge granted sole parental responsibility to one parent and the other parent appealed.  The trial judge found that the two parents had not exchanged information and had not...

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...

Evidence was given that the father of a 6 year old had a psychotic condition of schizoaffective disorder and had exhibited family violence.  The father’s own family had taken out apprehension of violence orders (AVO) against...

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 boy aged 9 years had lived with his mother since birth.  The father then applied for the boy to live with him. The father acknowledged that he became passionate about decisions he considered unfair and...

The judge quoted from a ruling by the Full Court in a 1995 case (In the marriage of B and R, FLC 92-636): “It is not just that Aboriginal children should be encouraged to learn about...

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...

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...