strong belief

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...

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. ...

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...

A father applied for a child aged 8 years to participate in a special education placement but the mother failed to file a response despite the Court’s directions to do so.  Evidence was presented that the child had attended...

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...

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...

The case involved a child aged 3 years who lived with the mother and spent time with the father, where the parents had separated a year earlier.  The father alleged that the child was at risk...

A child aged 3 years lived with the mother and spent time with the father.  The judge ordered that the time spent with the father increase in a graduated approach according to the child’s age as...

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...

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...

  A mother alleged that two girls aged 3 and 6 years had been subjected to sexual abuse by their father. The mother submitted 169 items of information to support her concerns. The judge found that,...

The case involved allegations that the father had participated in sexual abuse with children aged 7 and 6 years at the time of the hearing.  The parents separated after the mother expressed concern about the way the...

Parents had disputed custody of their child aged 10 years over 8 years, with 4 family reports having been obtained.  Both parents alleged that the child was at risk of harm while in the care of 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...

Parents had 3 children aged between 9 and 13 years.  Both parents had health worker qualifications.  There had been conflict before the court for 6 years with 3 final orders having been issued over time.  Each...

Following their separation, a mother alleged that their child had been subject to sexual abuse by the father.  The child was aged 9 years at the time of later hearings. In an initial hearing the judge...

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 had a son aged 9 years at the time of judgement.  The couple had lived separately under the same roof for a period.   The father ceased being the earner for the household following a...

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...

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...

A couple had three children aged 10, 9 and 8 years.  Interim orders had been made for the children to live with the father and to spend time with the mother.  When the case was reviewed...

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...

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...

Twin boys initially lived with their mother and spent time with their father.  The mother alleged that the father has exposed the boys to sexual abuse, leading to his contact being supervised.  The father appealed but...

Parents had lived together for 3 years and had a son aged 4.5 years at the time of the hearing.  A GP observed physical damage to the boy’s rectum.  The boy had a history of difficulty...

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 couple had three children aged 7, 6 and 5 years at the time of the rulings.  The parents separated after 5 years of being together, and had been in dispute for at least 3 years. ...

The case involved a 4 year old girl whose parents had separated in the year of her birth, and who lived with the mother.   Several significant disputes between the parents were discussed in court.  The father...

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 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...

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...