Feranti & Connor

In *Feranti & Connor*, heard by Dawe J, the father sought leave to file a contravention application concerning alleged breaches of court orders relating to telephone communication with the child. The father also sought to remove the Independent Children's Lawyer and have a judicial interview with the child conducted in place of a family assessment report.

The court was required to determine whether the father should be granted leave to file his contravention application, given previous orders that restrained him from doing so without court permission unless substantial compliance was not achieved and his communication opportunities were significantly compromised. Additionally, the court needed to consider the father's applications regarding the Independent Children's Lawyer and the method of assessing the child's views.

Dawe J granted the father leave to file a contravention application concerning specific alleged breaches of telephone communication orders occurring between November 2007 and February 2008. The court reasoned that these alleged contraventions fell within the conditions previously imposed by the court for seeking leave. The father's applications to remove the Independent Children's Lawyer and to substitute a judicial interview for a family assessment report were dismissed, as the court found no grounds to support the allegations against the lawyer and considered a family report by a qualified person to be in the interests of justice. The court also adjourned further consideration of other aspects of the father's application pending the receipt of the family assessment report.