Greenfield & Conley (No 4)

In the matter of *Greenfield & Conley (No 4)*, heard before Young J, the applicant mother sought to bring proceedings against the respondent father alleging contraventions of court orders. The core of the dispute revolved around alleged breaches of parenting orders concerning the parties' child.

The legal issues before the court included whether the father had contravened specific parenting orders, particularly in relation to counts 5 to 9 of the contravention application. The court was required to determine if the allegations, as pleaded, disclosed a contravention of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and, more broadly, whether the father's conduct constituted intentional non-compliance with the court's orders.

Young J reasoned that the allegations in counts 5 to 9 of the contravention application failed to disclose a contravention. While acknowledging that the father might not have exercised sufficient care in his communications, the judge was not satisfied that his actions amounted to intentional non-compliance with the orders. Consequently, none of the remaining counts of the contravention application were made out.

The court ordered that counts 5 to 9 of the contravention application be struck out, and the contravention application otherwise dismissed. The court also noted that certain indicated intentions of the parties regarding the child's privacy and discussions about litigation did not constitute formal undertakings or parenting orders under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). Provisions for written submissions on costs were also made.