Carter and Carter

In the Family Court of Australia, Young J considered an application by the wife concerning parenting orders. The dispute involved the husband's contact with his three children, H, C, and L, and the wife's attendance at family and therapeutic counselling. The court also addressed the role of the Independent Children's Lawyer and the provision of various reports to assist in the case management.

The primary legal issues before the court were the appropriate arrangements for supervised contact between the husband and the children, the continuation of mandatory counselling for the wife and children, and the dissemination of expert reports to relevant parties and professionals. The court was required to determine how best to facilitate potential future contact while ensuring the children's welfare and therapeutic needs were met.

Young J reasoned that discharging paragraph 4 of the previous orders was necessary to allow for the careful arrangement of supervised contact. The court ordered that the wife and children continue attending counselling at M Hospital and requested that the counsellor liaise with the Independent Children’s Lawyer and B Children’s Contact Service to arrange supervised time between the children and the husband. The matter was referred to Registrar Kaur for case management, with a telephone conference to be scheduled. The court also authorised the Independent Children’s Lawyer to provide reports from Mr N, Dr R, and Dr K to M Hospital for background and professional assistance. Furthermore, the court certified that the matter reasonably required the attendance of counsel for the husband and the wife, and a solicitor appearing as counsel for the wife.