Dyton and Bick & Anor

In the matter of *Dyton and Bick & Anor*, heard by Cleary J, the dispute concerned parenting orders for a child born in 2008. The paternal grandmother sought orders for the child to live with her, while the mother sought orders for the child to live with her and have sole parental responsibility. The father had been imprisoned for sexual assault.

The court was required to determine with whom the child should live and spend time, and whether the mother should have sole parental responsibility. Key considerations included the child's primary attachment figure, the ability of the father and paternal family to promote the child's relationship with the mother, and the impact of family violence and poor adult relationships on shared decision-making regarding the child's education, religion, health, and cultural associations.

Cleary J reasoned that the child's primary attachment figure was the mother. The court found that the father and paternal grandmother had been perpetrators of family violence and that their critical stance towards the mother and inability to foster the child's relationship with her were detrimental to the child's best interests. The poor relationships between the adult parties also made shared decision-making impossible. Consequently, the court ordered that the child live with the mother and that the mother have sole parental responsibility. The father was to spend supervised time with the child on four occasions per year for identity purposes. The paternal grandmother's application was dismissed.