FAINES & ALLPORT

In FAINES & ALLPORT, heard by Judge Young, the dispute concerned parenting arrangements for a child, X, who was almost four years old. The father had applied for a recovery order for the child, who had been withheld by the mother. The father had also sent threatening text messages to the mother.

The court was required to determine whether there was an unacceptable risk of harm to the child in the father's care, given the circumstances of the withholding and the father's conduct.

Judge Young found that there was an unacceptable risk of harm to the child in the father's care. The court ordered that the child live with the mother and that the father have supervised time with the child, with changeovers to occur at the paternal great grandmother's residence. The father was also restrained from approaching or speaking to the mother, and an injunction was granted to that effect. The parties were ordered to attend a child inclusive conference with a Family Consultant, and their legal representatives were restrained from providing copies of certain documents to any other person. The matter was adjourned for an interim hearing regarding the child's time with the father.