ELAMIN & ELAMIN

[2019] FCCA 2037

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

ELAMIN & ELAMIN [2019] FCCA 2037

Catchwords:
FAMILY LAW – Parenting proceedings – proceedings transferred to the Family Court of Australia – order made.

Legislation:

Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999, s.39

Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001, r.8.02

Cases cited:

Morris & Rosetti [2017] FamCA 249

Applicant: MS ELAMIN

Respondent: MR ELAMIN

File Number: PAC 2068 of 2018

Judgment of: Judge Newbrun

Hearing date: 14 June 2019

Date of Last Submission: 14 June 2019

Delivered at: Parramatta

Delivered on: 25 July 2019

REPRESENTATION

Solicitors for the Applicant: Mr Harb

Solicitors for the Respondent: Ms Abdurahim

Solicitors for the Independent Children's Lawyer: Ms Shedden

ORDERS

1. These proceedings are forthwith transferred to the Family Court of Australia at Parramatta, with the matter to be mentioned on 26 June 2019 at 9:30am.

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment under the pseudonym Elamin & Elamin is approved pursuant to s.121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT
OF AUSTRALIA
AT PARRAMATTA

PAC 2068 of 2018

MS ELAMIN

Applicant

And

MR ELAMIN

Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

Introduction

1. The within Reasons for Judgment relate to the Court’s order of 14 June 2019 to transfer these parenting proceedings to the Parramatta Registry of the Family Court of Australia, such application being supported by the Independent Children’s Lawyer. 

2. The subject children are [X] born … 2005 (14 years) and [Y] born … 2008.

3. The father is aged 48 years and the mother is aged 43 years.

4. The parties were married by Islamic law in 2003.  The parties separated in June 2014 when the father left the former matrimonial home.

5. An incident occurred in July 2014 where the mother alleged the father had been violent towards her.  The father was charged with assault and an ADVO was made to protect the mother from the father.

6. The parties are in dispute about how the children came to be in the father’s full-time care.  The mother claims she required hospitalisation for pneumonia in … 2015 and asked the father to temporarily care for the children but he retained them in his care.  The father claims that he took the children into his care in … 2015 after the child [X] disclosed that Mr A, the 14 year old son of Mr A, had been sexually abusing her during religious meetings at Mr A’s home.  It appears that the child [X] was about 10 years old at the time of the alleged abuse.

7. Family and Community Services have been involved in this family.  The father alleged that FACS has substantiated that the child [X] had been sexually abused by Mr A and, further to this, that the mother had not accepted this finding and was deemed not to be protective.

8. The father has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

9. The children had been raised as Muslims with the mother converting to Christianity later in the relationship.

10. Interim consent orders made by the Registrar on 14 June 2018 provided for the children to…