BLACK & RAYNOR

In the Family Court of Australia, Mr Black (the applicant father) and Ms Raynor (the respondent mother) were involved in proceedings concerning interim parenting orders for their two children, B and C. The central dispute revolved around allegations of sexual abuse by the father, specifically an incident in March 2007 where the mother alleged she found the father masturbating while holding their infant daughter, C. The mother contended that unsupervised time with the father posed an unacceptable risk of sexual abuse to the children, while the father maintained he did not pose such a risk.

The court was required to determine several key issues. These included whether the father's actions in March 2007 were motivated by paedophilic tendencies, whether there was an unacceptable risk of sexual abuse to the children if their time with the father was not supervised, and whether the substantial attendance of the father's parents or brother would provide sufficient protection. The court also considered whether there were any other risks to the children's safety or welfare in the father's care, and whether the father should be permitted to attend school activities given potential risks to the children and other attendees. A secondary issue concerned the children's surname.

Justice Macmillan, applying the principles from *Briginshaw v Briginshaw*, found that the mother had not discharged the onus of proving an unacceptable risk of sexual abuse. While acknowledging the seriousness of the 2007 incident, the court noted that no further action had been taken by authorities at the time, and the parents had continued to live together for a period afterwards. The court considered the father's engagement in therapy and the history of supervised contact, concluding that the risk of sexual abuse was not established to the requisite standard. The court also found that the father's attendance at school activities did not pose an unacceptable risk.

Consequently, the court made interim parenting orders granting the mother sole parental responsibility and ordering that the children live with her. The father was granted limited, supervised time with the children, with his parents or brother to be in substantial attendance. The court also ordered that the children retain their surname, Black. The matter was adjourned for further mention pending the father completing further therapy.