Carter and Olson (No. 2)

In *Carter and Olson (No. 2)*, Cronin J considered an application by the father to set aside previous orders made on 15 January 2013, following his non-attendance at a hearing. The dispute concerned parenting arrangements for the child J.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the father had provided sufficient grounds to justify setting aside the earlier orders, particularly in light of his absence from the hearing. The court also had to determine appropriate interim parenting arrangements and the representation of the children.

Cronin J reasoned that the father's failure to attend the hearing without explanation was a significant impediment to setting aside the existing orders. However, the court made provision for the father to seek to set aside the orders if he could provide a satisfactory explanation for his absence by a specified date. In the interim, the court suspended paragraph 4 of the previous orders and varied the contact arrangements, ordering that the father spend time with the child J on alternate weekends at a supervised contact centre. The court also ordered separate representation for the children J and M, requesting Victoria Legal Aid to arrange for an Independent Children’s Lawyer.

The court made various consequential orders regarding the implementation of the interim parenting arrangements, the provision of documents to the Independent Children’s Lawyer, and the service of the orders. The father's application in a case filed on 26 August 2013 was otherwise dismissed. The court also attached a Fact Sheet detailing the obligations and consequences of contravening the orders.