Graham and Kovacs (No 3)

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

GRAHAM & KOVACS (NO. 3) [2014] FamCA 829

FAMILY LAW – CHILDREN – Where orders provided for the children to live with the mother and to spend alternate weekends and holiday time with the father – Where those orders broke down and a series of contravention applications were filed – Where the parenting proceedings were part heard – Whether the contravention applications could be heard and determined discretely from those parenting proceedings – Where the contravention applications should be adjourned to be heard and determined with the trial of the substantive parenting proceedings in this case.

Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)

APPLICANT: Ms Graham

RESPONDENT:	Mr Kovacs
INDEPENDENT CHILDREN’S LAWYER:	Ms Susan Gray

FILE NUMBER: CSC 762 of 2010

DATE DELIVERED: 29 September 2014

PLACE DELIVERED: Brisbane

PLACE HEARD: Brisbane

JUDGMENT OF: Kent J

HEARING DATE: 29 September 2014

REPRESENTATION

SOLICITOR FOR THE APPLICANT:	Ms Sinclair, Solicitor via video link from Family Court, Cairns Registry
FOR THE RESPONDENT:	In person via video link from Family Court, Cairns Registry

SOLICITOR FOR THE INDEPENDENT CHILDREN’S LAWYER: Ms Gray, Solicitor via video link from Family Court, Cairns Registry

Orders

It is ordered that:

1. The Father’s Contravention Applications filed on 2 April 2013, 20 December 2013 and 8 July 2014 be adjourned before the Honourable Justice Tree to a date to be fixed to be heard and determined with the final trial of these proceedings, subject to any further Order of the Honourable Justice Tree.

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment by this Court under the pseudonym Graham & Kovacs has been approved by the Chief Justice pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT BRISBANE

FILE NUMBER: CSC 762 of 2010

Ms Graham

Applicant

And

Mr Kovacs

Respondent

EX TEMPORE REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. These parenting proceedings concern the three children, B born in 2005 who is now nine years of age, C born in 2007, now seven years of age, and D born in 2009, now aged four (“the children”).

2. The parenting proceedings proceeded to a trial in September and October of last year before Tree J.  In the result the trial was part-heard and Tree J made some interim orders on 2 October 2013 by the consent of the parties, being Ms Graham (“the mother”) and Mr Kovacs (“the father”), pending the further trial.  In brief summary those currently operative orders provided for the children to live with the mother and to spend alternate weekends and holiday time with the father.

3. Those interim orders soon reached a point where they broke down in that it was on 20 December 2013 that the father filed the first of his contravention applications.  He has filed contravention applications on 2 April 2013 (mainly in relation to property matters), but on 20 December 2013 and 8 July 2014 has filed contravention applications with respect to the parenting orders. 

4. In circumstances where Tree J was part-heard in the parenting proceedings in September…