Bates and Bates and Ors

In the matter of Bates and Bates and Ors, Dawe J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia made orders concerning the contact arrangements for a child. The dispute involved the mother, Ms Bates, and the grandfather, Mr Ramsey, regarding their respective access to the child. Ms Lowe was also a party, responsible for delivering and collecting the child.

The court was required to determine the terms upon which supervised contact between the child and the mother, and the child and the grandfather, could occur. This involved assessing the suitability of both the mother and the grandfather for supervised time and establishing a framework for such contact, including the duration, frequency, and supervision requirements. The court also needed to address the practicalities of facilitating this contact, such as the role of the other party, Ms Lowe, and the allocation of costs associated with the supervised sessions.

Dawe J ordered that both the mother and the grandfather must attend an assessment at a Children's Contact Centre to determine their suitability for supervised time. If deemed suitable, the mother would have one hour of supervised contact per month, and the grandfather would have half an hour of supervised contact per month, immediately following the mother's contact. Ms Lowe was directed to deliver and collect the child for these sessions. The mother was ordered to contribute $25 per month towards travel costs, and both the mother and grandfather were to share any fees charged by the Contact Centre for supervision. The orders also provided for the restoration of the matter to the court list if the Contact Centre was unable or unwilling to provide supervision, or if a variation was recommended by the Director of the Contact Centre. The Independent Children's Lawyer was directed to provide relevant documents to the Contact Centre.