Don and McGlennan (No 3)

In *Don and McGlennan (No 3)*, Dawe J considered allegations by the mother that the father had contravened court orders requiring him to allow her to spend time with their severely autistic child, M. The mother alleged nine specific instances of the father refusing to hand over M between August and November 2010, thereby frustrating the court orders. The father denied any contravention without reasonable excuse, providing his own account of the events.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the mother had discharged her burden of proof, on the balance of probabilities, to establish that the father had failed to comply with the parenting orders or made no reasonable attempt to do so. This required the court to consider the evidence presented by both parties in relation to each alleged contravention.

Dawe J applied section 140 of the *Civil Proceedings Act 1995 (Cth)*, which mandates that a court must find a party's case proved if satisfied on the balance of probabilities, taking into account the nature of the cause of action, the subject matter, and the gravity of the allegations. The court found that the mother had not overcome the burden of proof. Consequently, Dawe J held that the father had not contravened the orders as alleged.

The matter was adjourned to allow for further submissions from the parties and the Independent Children’s Lawyer regarding the orders to be made.