GABBARD & GABBARD

This matter concerned an application by the father for orders regarding the residence and contact arrangements for the parties' child, born in 2005. The child suffered from severe mental health issues, and the mother also had significant mental health challenges. The father had not previously been the primary resident parent.

The court was required to determine the most appropriate living arrangements for the child, considering the mental health issues of both the child and the mother, and the father's role as a potential resident parent. The court also needed to establish orders for parental responsibility, the child's living arrangements, and the nature and extent of contact between the child and both parents, including provisions for special days and school holidays.

Judge Cassidy ordered that all previous orders concerning the child be discharged. The father was granted sole parental responsibility, with specific requirements for him to notify the mother in writing of any long-term decisions and consider her written opinion before finalising them. The child was to live with the father from 15 September 2018. For an initial fourteen-day period, contact with the mother was limited to supervised telephone calls. Following this period, contact arrangements were detailed, including alternate weekends and regular telephone contact. Specific provisions were made for school holidays, Christmas, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and birthdays, with a general principle that time with the mother would be suspended to facilitate these special occasions. The orders also mandated parenting programs for both parents, continued therapeutic intervention for the child, and strict guidelines on communication and behaviour between the parents regarding the child.