Adler & Parrow

This appeal concerns the parenting arrangements for a child, following a decision made by the primary judge on 9 February 2024. The primary judge ordered that the child should live with the respondent mother and spend time with the appellant father, with supervised visitation commencing at five-hour periods each week, increasing over time. The appellant appealed this decision, raising several grounds including the weight given to state court judgments, the admissibility of a family report, and the classification of his behaviour as family violence. The court was required to determine whether the primary judge erred in her approach to the state court judgments, the admissibility and weight of the family report, and the classification of the appellant's behaviour as family violence.

The court found that the primary judge did not err in her approach to the state court judgments. The appellant argued that the primary judge should have given weight to the findings of the state courts, but the court held that there was no issue estoppel, the state court judgments were not to be adopted under s 69ZX of the Family Law Act, and they were not otherwise relevant in the context of the evidence presented at the hearing. The court also held that the family report, despite the author not being cross-examined, was admissible and appropriately weighed by the primary judge. The report provided significant evidence of the appellant's coercive and controlling behaviour, which the primary judge found to be family violence. The court further found that the primary judge was correct in classifying the appellant's behaviour as family violence, based on the evidence of his unpredictability, volatility, and efforts to control and isolate the respondent.

In conclusion, the court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the primary judge's orders, with a minor amendment to clarify the visitation periods. The court also ordered the appellant to pay the respondent's costs of $16,735.18. The decision highlights the importance of the primary judge's assessment of evidence and findings in family law proceedings, and the limited role of state court judgments in subsequent family law matters.