Arslan & Yildiz

This case concerns an application before Rees J in the Family Court of Australia, involving Mr Arslan (Applicant) and Ms Yildiz (Respondent). The dispute centres on interim parenting orders regarding the time the parties' children would spend with their father. The Independent Children’s Lawyer, Legal Aid NSW, also participated in the proceedings.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether to grant unsupervised overnight time for the children with their father, and if so, on what terms. This involved assessing the father's past behaviour, particularly allegations of aggression towards the mother and denigration of her to the children, against the children's expressed wishes to spend more time with their father, including overnight. The court also considered the mother's concerns about the psychological risk to the children if their time with the father was not appropriately managed.

Rees J determined that the children would benefit from a meaningful relationship with their father and that unsupervised time was appropriate. The court acknowledged the children's love for their father and their desire for more time with him, including overnight stays. While noting the mother's allegations of past aggressive behaviour by the father towards her, the court found no suggestion that the father had behaved violently towards the children themselves. However, the court recognised that the children found their father's behaviour towards their mother upsetting. To mitigate potential risks and ensure the children's welfare, the court imposed specific conditions, including a requirement for the father to secure accommodation with at least three bedrooms before overnight stays could commence, and that changeovers occur at a neutral location. The court also made orders regarding the older child, W, respecting her wishes about overnight stays and her ability to return to her mother's home if she requested.

The court made orders pending further order, detailing a phased approach to the children spending time with the father. These orders included specific arrangements for day visits, progressing to alternate weekends and then half of school holiday periods. Crucially, overnight time was expressly prohibited until the Independent Children’s Lawyer and the mother were satisfied that the father had secured suitable accommodation. The orders also included provisions restraining both parents from publishing recordings of the children on social media and requiring the inclusion of a fact sheet detailing obligations and consequences of contravention.