Gallagher and Sand and Anor

In *Gallagher and Sand*, heard by Judge Phipps, the court was required to determine parenting orders concerning a child born in 2006. The dispute involved the father seeking sole parental responsibility and specific living and time arrangements for the child, while the mother's role and access were also central to the proceedings.

The primary legal issues before the court were the allocation of parental responsibility, the child's residence, and the nature and extent of the time the child would spend with each parent. The court also considered the communication protocols between the parents, specific arrangements for holidays and birthdays, and restrictions on the mother's ability to seek medical treatment for the child. The discharge of previous parenting orders and the Independent Children's Lawyer was also a matter for determination.

Judge Phipps reasoned that it was in the child's best interests to discharge all previous parenting orders. The court ordered that the father have sole parental responsibility for the child, with the child to live with the father, conditional upon the father residing in the paternal grandparents' home. Specific time arrangements were then detailed for the child to spend with the mother, including alternate weekends, school holiday periods, and significant dates like Christmas Eve and birthdays. The court also made orders regarding communication between the parents, the suspension of the mother's time on certain occasions, and the father's authorisation for the mother to receive school-related information. Further, the mother was restrained from taking the child to medical practitioners without the father's consent, except in emergencies. All extant applications were dismissed.