DHANJIT & PICHAI

The case of *Dhanjit & Pichai* concerned parenting orders for a child born in 2014. The father sought a review of existing orders made in May 2017, which had not allocated parental responsibility. The mother did not contend that the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility was inapplicable due to family violence, nor did she argue that any constraints on the child spending time with the father were warranted by past episodes of family violence.

The court was required to determine the appropriate allocation of parental responsibility and the extent to which the child should spend time with each parent, having regard to the child's best interests. Specifically, the court needed to assess whether the child was at risk of harm in the father's care and whether an order for the child to spend substantial and significant time with the father would meet the child's best interests.

Austin J concluded that the child was not at risk of harm in the father's care and that an order for the child to spend substantial and significant time with the father would serve the child's best interests. Consequently, the court ordered that the parties shall have equal shared parental responsibility for the child. The child was ordered to live with the mother and spend time with the father for three nights per fortnight, with detailed provisions outlining the schedule for time spent with the father, including specific arrangements for holidays and extended periods. All former orders relating to the child were discharged, and all outstanding applications for interim relief were dismissed, with no order as to costs.