FARNHAM & DELUCA

This matter concerned orders made by Le Poer Trench J concerning parenting arrangements for two children, X and C. The dispute involved the father's time with the children, the conditions attached to that time, and various injunctions and therapeutic requirements for the parents and X.

The court was required to determine the specific terms of the father's time with each child, including during school terms and holidays, and to establish protocols for the transfer of the children between parents. Further issues included the father's provision of a child safety seat and residential details, injunctions against certain parental behaviours, and the requirement for both parents and X to obtain mental health treatment plans and engage in therapeutic interventions. The court also considered the mother's ability to nominate a third party to facilitate changeovers and the father's ability to apply for variations to the orders at a later date.

Le Poer Trench J varied previous orders to detail the father's time with X, specifying Wednesday and Saturday contact during school terms and holidays, and also outlined the father's time with C, commencing from 1 June 2016, with a period of supervised contact prior to that date. The court imposed conditions on the father's time with C, including the mandatory use of an appropriately fitted child safety seat. Injunctions were granted restraining both parents from using corporal punishment, questioning the children about the other parent, or discussing the proceedings with them. Both parents were ordered to obtain mental health treatment plans and attend therapy, with the father to bear any costs not covered by Medicare. The court also mandated attendance at parenting programs and specified conditions for the mother's nominees to effect changeovers, including advance notification and identification.

The court ordered that the Independent Children's Lawyer prepare a consolidated set of orders for agreement by the parties and formal noting by the court. The father was granted leave to apply to vary the orders regarding time with the children after 1 October 2016, and to seek permission to collect X from school on school days, unless otherwise agreed in writing before that date.