Bower & Marshall

Bower & Marshall was an interim application by the Applicant Father for supervised access in relation to X, born in 2016, the child of his relationship with the Respondent Mother. The parties had commenced their relationship in 2014 and the child was born in 2016. The Respondent Mother alleged that the Applicant Father had engaged in domestic violence against her. The Court had already made orders suspending the Applicant Father’s time with the child. The Applicant Father sought supervised access. The Respondent Mother opposed the application. The Independent Children’s Lawyer sought supervised access by the Applicant Father at an appropriate facility. The Court considered the evidence of the Respondent Mother’s allegations of family violence and her concerns that contact with the Applicant Father would impact on her mental health, which would impact on her capacity and ability as the primary carer, and so impact on the Child’s best interests. The Court accepted the Respondent Mother’s evidence and was satisfied that there was an unacceptable risk that commencing contact, be it at a supervised centre or otherwise, would have a potential deleterious effect on the mental state of the Respondent Mother to such a degree that it would not be in the best interests of the Child. The Court proposed to fix the matter for a final hearing on 4 and 5 August 2022. The Court dismissed the application and fixed the matter for a final hearing.