BOSTRIDGE & SMALLWOOD

In the matter of *Bostridge & Smallwood*, Austin J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application concerning the parental responsibility and living arrangements for a child. The mother failed to attend the final hearing, prompting the court to determine whether the proceedings could properly continue in her absence.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the mother had been afforded procedural fairness, whether the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility should be rebutted, and what orders were in the best interests of the child regarding parental responsibility, living arrangements, and time spent with each parent. The court also had to consider the child's reluctance to spend time with the mother, the mother's history of drug use and mental ill health, and the potential risk of psychological harm to the child.

Austin J found that the mother had been afforded procedural fairness and that it was appropriate for the hearing to proceed in her absence. The court determined that the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility was rebutted, concluding that an order for equal shared parental responsibility would be repugnant to the child's best interests. This conclusion was informed by the child's lack of a meaningful relationship with the mother, the child's reluctance to spend time with her, the mother's previous cessation of supervised time, her disengagement from proceedings, and her lack of insight into the child's emotional needs. The Independent Children's Lawyer supported an order for the father to have exclusive parental responsibility.

Consequently, the court ordered that the father have sole parental responsibility for the child and that the child live with the father. The court intentionally made no orders for the child to spend time or communicate with the mother, leaving such decisions to the father as an incident of his exclusive parental responsibility. The father was also ordered to ensure the child receives counselling and to provide relevant documents to the child's counsellor and school.