Dallon and Macbride

This matter concerned orders made by Cleary J regarding the residence and parental responsibility of three children, W, X, and Y, and the time the children would spend with their father. The proceedings involved the mother and father of the children, and the paternal grandparents were also respondents.

The court was required to determine the living arrangements for the children, the allocation of parental responsibility for long-term and day-to-day decisions, and the specific schedule for the father to spend time with the children, including during school holidays and special occasions. The court also considered the need for family therapy and imposed restraints on the parties regarding comments made in the children's presence.

Cleary J ordered that the children live with the mother and that the mother have sole parental responsibility for long-term decisions, with a requirement to notify and consider the father's input. Parental responsibility for day-to-day decisions was allocated to the parent with whom the children were residing. The court then set out a detailed, phased schedule for the father to spend time with the children, commencing with supervised contact and gradually increasing the duration and independence of the time spent together. This schedule was designed to facilitate the resumption of the children's relationship with their father. The court also ordered that the father, mother, and paternal grandparents attend family therapy to address issues related to the children's relationship with the father and paternal grandparents and to support compliance with the orders. Restraints were imposed on all parties from making derogatory remarks about each other in the children's presence.

The court made specific orders regarding the children's residence and parental responsibility, including a detailed schedule for the father's time with the children, which was to be phased in over several months. The court also ordered family therapy for the father, mother, and paternal grandparents, and imposed restraints on the parties. The application by the paternal grandparents was otherwise dismissed.