Bartels and Scholz (No 2)

In *Bartels and Scholz (No 2)*, Dawe J considered final parenting orders concerning the children V and E. The dispute centred on parental responsibility and the time the children would spend with each parent, particularly in light of allegations of physical abuse made by the mother against the father.

The court was required to determine whether the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility, as stipulated in section 61DA of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), had been rebutted. Additionally, the court needed to assess the best interests of the children in relation to their living arrangements and the extent of time they should spend with each parent, considering the mother's allegations of abuse and the parties' poor relationship.

Dawe J found that the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility was rebutted due to the parties' acrimonious relationship and the conclusion that it was not in the children's best interests for them to have equal shared parental responsibility. While the court did not find evidence to support the mother's allegations of physical abuse by the father, it ordered that the children live with the mother and have sole parental responsibility. The court also made detailed orders for a gradual reintroduction of the father's time with the children, commencing with supervised contact and progressing to unsupervised time, with specific conditions regarding supervision by paternal relatives and restrictions on the father's ability to take the children to psychological or health professionals. The court also issued injunctions restraining both parties from denigrating each other in the presence of the children and restraining the father from denigrating a particular religion.