Curtis and Percy and Anor

In the matter of *Curtis and Percy and Anor*, Carew J of the Supreme Court of New South Wales was required to determine the future parental responsibility and living arrangements for two children, C and D. The proceedings involved the Secretary for the Department of Family and Community Services (NSW) as an applicant, and the children's father, Mr Curtis, and mother, Ms Percy, as respondents. The core of the dispute concerned the appropriate orders for the children's care and contact with their parents, given the Department's involvement.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the Department should have sole parental responsibility for the children, where the children should live, and whether any contact should be permitted between the children and their parents. Specifically, the Court had to consider the suitability of the parents to have parental responsibility and to spend time with the children, and the necessity of imposing restraining orders to protect the children and their carers. The Court was also tasked with determining the practical arrangements for the children's living situation, including their placement with foster carers and the potential for them to spend time with their siblings.

Carew J ordered that the Secretary for the Department of Family and Community Services have sole parental responsibility for the children until they attain the age of eighteen years. The children were to live with their current foster carers, or other foster carers determined by the Department, with a preference for arrangements that allowed them to spend time with their siblings. Crucially, the Court ordered that the children not live with either parent and that neither parent spend any time with the children. Furthermore, injunctions were issued restraining both the father and the mother from communicating with, approaching, or contacting the children, their foster carers, or their schools, either directly or indirectly. The independent children's lawyer was discharged.