Fella and Fella and Sternfeldt

This matter concerned parenting orders for a child, B, born in July 2010, before Collier J. The dispute involved the father, the mother, and the maternal grandmother, Ms A Fello.

The court was required to determine the interim living arrangements for the child, the extent of time the child would spend with each parent, and the conditions under which such time would occur. Further issues included whether to appoint an Independent Children's Lawyer and the necessity for a Family Consultant's assessment.

Collier J discharged all previous parenting orders and made new interim orders by consent. The child was to live with the maternal grandmother pending further order. The father was granted supervised time with the child on Tuesdays and Saturdays, with the paternal grandmother providing supervision, an arrangement accepted by the court based on her assurances. The mother was to facilitate telephone contact between the child and the father and was to spend time with the child at agreed times, supervised by the applicant. The mother was restrained from allowing the mother to live at her home or spend time overnight there. The court also ordered the parties to attend counselling to obtain an appointment with a Family Consultant for a child and parent assessment. Liberty was granted to relist the matter upon notice in the event of difficulty, and the court declined to appoint an Independent Children's Lawyer at that stage.