BOCCARD & BOCCARD

The Family Court of Australia considered the case of *Boccard & Boccard*, brought by Ms. Boccard against Mr. Boccard. The dispute concerned parenting arrangements for the parties' three children. The father sought to spend time with and communicate with the children, while the mother sought sole parental responsibility and for the children to have no time with or communication with the father, supported by the Independent Children's Lawyer.

The central legal issues before the court were the level of risk the father posed to the children and whether this risk was of such weight that it overrode the primary consideration of the children's best interests. Specifically, the court had to determine if the father posed an unacceptable risk to the children, given his conviction for distributing child pornography, his threats towards the mother and children, and his diagnosed mental illness which he did not recognise.

Justice Watts found that the father posed an unacceptable risk to the children on multiple levels. The court accepted the mother's version of events over the father's, noting the father's tendency to tell untruths and present in a charming but misleading manner. The court considered the father's conviction for distributing child pornography, his threats of violence, and his diagnosed bipolar disorder with manic episodes, which he did not acknowledge. These factors, combined with the father's history of coercive control over the mother and breaches of protection orders, led the court to conclude that the father's behaviour presented a significant danger.

Consequently, the court ordered that all previous parenting orders be discharged. The mother was granted sole parental responsibility, and the children were to live with her and have no time with or communication with the father. The court also issued extensive injunctive orders restraining the father from communicating with or approaching the mother and children, or attending locations frequented by them, and prohibiting the distribution of any photographs or writings concerning them. The Independent Children's Lawyer was directed to provide copies of the orders to relevant police and child protection authorities, with requests for protection and review of existing domestic violence orders.