Gomez and Gomez

In the Family Court of Australia at Newcastle, Justice Rose presided over proceedings involving Mrs. Gomez (Applicant) and Mr. Gomez (Respondent). The dispute concerned interim parenting orders for the parties' daughter, born in April 2001. The court was required to determine whether to grant the father's application for the child to live with him, and to make orders regarding supervised time between the child and the father, as well as injunctions concerning allegations of child abuse.

The court was required to determine the legal issues of whether to grant the father's application for the child to live with him, and to make interim parenting orders. Specifically, the court considered the best interests of the child, balancing the risk of parental alienation against the lack of expert evidence regarding the emotional impact of a change in living arrangements. The court also addressed the mother's capacity to conduct the proceedings, having been found to be a person with a disability.

Justice Rose found that the mother was a person with a disability, unable to give adequate instructions for the conduct of the case, and granted leave for her legal representatives to withdraw. The court declined to order the child to live with the father, reasoning that such an order would pre-empt findings yet to be made, particularly as the father had not yet been cross-examined and expert evidence was still to be heard. Instead, the court ordered that the child continue to live with the mother, but made specific orders for supervised time with the father, commencing at 4:00 pm on 9 February 2007 and thereafter at three-weekly intervals. The court also made orders restraining the mother from taking the child to medical practitioners to discuss allegations of abuse by the father, or discussing such allegations with the child. The trial was stood over part-heard for mention to address the appointment of a case guardian for the mother, her future legal representation, and directions for the resumption of the trial.