Daher & Saliba & Anor

This matter concerned parenting orders for three children, B, R, and M, and involved the father, the mother, and the Minister for Family and Community Services. The court was required to determine the future living arrangements and parental responsibility for the children, as well as the nature and extent of contact between the children and their parents.

The primary legal issue before Hannam J was how to best provide for the welfare and best interests of the children, particularly in light of the circumstances that led to the proceedings. This involved considering the appropriate allocation of parental responsibility, the children's living arrangements, and the terms of any contact orders, including whether such contact should be supervised. The court also had to consider the need for protective injunctions to safeguard the children from certain behaviours.

Hannam J discharged all previous parenting orders and made new orders reflecting a significant shift in the children's care. B was ordered to live with the father, who was granted sole parental responsibility for B. For R and M, the Minister for Family and Community Services was vested with sole parental responsibility until they each turned eighteen, with their living arrangements to be directed by the Secretary of the Department of Family and Community Services. Contact arrangements were detailed, with R and M to spend time with the mother under supervision, or unsupervised if deemed appropriate by the Minister's delegate, and also to spend supervised time with the father. Crucially, injunctions were imposed on both parents restraining them from abusing, denigrating, discussing proceedings, exposing the children to domestic violence, or physically disciplining the children, with provisions for arrest without warrant for breaches of these injunctions. All outstanding applications were dismissed.