GARRA-MARSH & GARRA-MARSH

The case involves GARRA-MARSH and GARRA-MARSH, where the court addressed interim parenting arrangements for a child named X born in 2007. The father sought to challenge the presumption in Family Law that it is in a child’s best interests to have equal shared parental responsibility. The mother, in contrast, sought to maintain the current arrangement where the child lives with her and the father has limited visitation rights.

The legal issues centred on whether the court should apply the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility when making interim orders, considering the intractable conflict between the parents. The court was also tasked with determining the best interests of the child in the context of the parents' dispute and whether independent representation of the child’s interests by an Independent Children's Lawyer was necessary.

The court found that the intractable conflict between the parents made it inappropriate to apply the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility in interim orders. The court emphasised the need for the child's interests to be independently represented due to the high level of conflict. The court ordered that the child should live with the mother, while the father would have limited supervised visitation and telephone contact on specific days. The court also imposed conditions on the father's drug use and behaviour around the child. Furthermore, the court mandated that the child's interests be represented by an Independent Children’s Lawyer and required the parents to provide relevant documents and attend a Family Consultant’s report.

The court issued orders for the child to live with the mother, with the father having limited visitation and contact under specific conditions. The court also required the appointment of an Independent Children's Lawyer to represent the child's interests and mandated that the parents cooperate with this process. The case was adjourned for further mention, and the father was required to file affidavits related to financial agreements by a specified date.