Biggins and Brown

This matter concerned parenting orders for a child, J Brown, born in August 2002. The case was heard by Dessau J.

The court was required to determine the best interests of the child, considering the likely effect of any changes in his circumstances, including separation from his parents. Key issues included the mother's capacity for change in her attitude towards the father, whether the child would be free to spend time with and love his father without the mother's fears influencing him, and the father's capacity to ensure the child could love his mother. The court also considered the child's wishes, though they were not determinative given his age of nine.

Dessau J applied the principles of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), particularly concerning the child's best interests and the weight to be given to the child's wishes. The court found the Family Report prepared by Ms S to be of high quality, nuanced, and responsive to the case's complexities. While Ms S made an error in allowing the father unsupervised time with the child, which caused distress to the mother, the court was satisfied she handled the situation sensitively and took it into account in her assessment. The mother's own evidence indicated a shift in her perception of the father's risk, influenced by Ms S's opinions and advice.

The court ordered the discharge of all previous parenting orders and established new arrangements for equal shared parental responsibility, with the child to live with the father. Specific orders detailed the mother's time with the child, including school holidays and communication, and outlined therapeutic counselling for the father. Further orders addressed the child's paediatric assessment, information sharing from the child's school, travel arrangements and costs, and prohibitions against denigrating the other parent or discussing proceedings with the child. The court also ordered that each parent encourage the child's relationship with the other and their extended family. The mother was granted a period to apply to the court for changes to the details of her time and travel arrangements. All other applications were dismissed, and the appointment of the Independent Children's Lawyer was discharged. The orders included a fact sheet detailing obligations and consequences of contravention.