Goylan and Durban and Ors (No.2)

In this matter before Judge Burchardt, the applicants, excluding the father, sought the summary dismissal of the father's application. The dispute concerned parenting orders for an eight-year-old child, with all parties other than the father in agreement regarding the child's welfare. The applicants contended that the father's application lacked any reasonable prospects of success and was not in the child's best interests.

The court was required to determine whether to grant the application for summary dismissal of the father's parenting application. This involved assessing whether the father's application was so devoid of merit that it should be terminated without a full hearing, and whether such dismissal was consistent with the paramount consideration of the child's best interests.

Judge Burchardt granted the application for summary dismissal, finding that the father's application had no reasonable prospects of success and was not in the child's best interests. The court then made extensive orders concerning the child's care and welfare. These included discharging previous orders, establishing shared parental responsibility between the paternal grandparents and maternal grandmother, with the child to live with the paternal grandparents. The orders also mandated family counselling, outlined specific time arrangements for the child with the mother and father (including supervised time with the father contingent on his compliance with mental health assessments), and imposed injunctions to protect the child from family violence, conflict, and inappropriate discussions. Further orders addressed the child's passport, overseas travel, and the disclosure of relevant reports to professionals involved in the child's wellbeing.