Eastick & Burrows

This case concerned an application for interim parenting orders between Mr Eastick (the applicant father) and Ms Burrows (the respondent mother) regarding their two children, aged eleven and ten. The dispute arose after the children had resided with the mother from the time of separation until she was found to be addicted to illicit drugs and alcohol abuse. Consequently, the children's primary residence was changed to the father, with the mother having supervised contact facilitated by the maternal grandmother. The court listed the matter for an urgent hearing following the publication of a private family report which expressed concerns for the children's protection from the mother.

The court was required to determine several legal issues, including whether to grant the father sole interim parental responsibility for the children, whether to suspend the mother's direct time and communication with the children on an interim basis, and whether to issue an injunction requiring the mother to undergo drug and alcohol testing. The court also considered whether to grant the father's application for an injunction compelling the mother to disclose information about her drug tests and treatment.

In reaching its decision, the court was significantly assisted by the evidence of a private family report writer and a psychiatrist, whose opinions were not meaningfully challenged. The private family report writer opined that the children needed protection from the mother, and both experts recommended a six-month moratorium on direct contact between the mother and children. The court found that it was not in the children's best interests to maintain equal shared parental responsibility at that time, thereby rebutting the presumption in favour of equality. The court also considered the mother's history of substance abuse and her struggles to connect her drug use with its impact on the children, despite her claims of being "clean" and engaged in treatment.

Consequently, the court made orders granting the father sole interim parental responsibility and ordering that the children live with him. The mother's face-to-face and electronic time with the children was suspended, with communication permitted only through cards, gifts, and letters via the children's therapist. The mother was also ordered to undergo supervised urine testing for illicit substances, medications, and alcohol. The court noted that the father's application for an injunction regarding the disclosure of drug test results and treatment information was omitted from consideration and could be relisted. The matter was listed for mention to check readiness for trial, with a tentative final hearing date reserved.