Dalliston & Norgate

This matter concerned parenting orders sought by the Father in relation to the child, L. The Father had filed an Initiating Application, which he subsequently discontinued. The dispute ultimately resolved by agreement between the Father, the Mother, and the Independent Children’s Lawyer, with the Court making orders reflecting this agreement. The Father has a history of sex offences involving children.

The Court was required to determine the terms of parenting orders concerning where the child would live, parental responsibility, and the nature and extent of the child's time with the Father. Specifically, the Court needed to address the Father's time with the child, given his history and the agreement that such time would be supervised.

Murphy J ordered that the child live with the Mother and that the Mother have sole parental responsibility for all major long-term issues concerning the child, subject to a process of consultation with the Father. The child was to spend supervised time with the Father once each month for a period of two hours, to be facilitated by an agreed contact centre. The orders also stipulated communication arrangements between the Father and the child, including telephone and webcam contact, and detailed the responsibilities of both parents in facilitating supervised time and complying with the contact centre's rules. Furthermore, the Court directed that at an appropriate time, a qualified professional was to explain to the child the reasons for the supervised contact. The Independent Children’s Lawyer was discharged, and all extant applications were dismissed.