Grey and Brockwell

This matter concerned orders made by Tree J in the Family Court of Australia between Mr Grey (the father) and Ms Brockwell (the mother) regarding their children, X and Y. The dispute centred on parenting arrangements for the children, including where they would live, spend time with each parent, and therapeutic interventions for the mother.

The court was required to determine the living arrangements for the children, the specific times and conditions under which the children would spend time with the mother, and the nature and purpose of therapeutic interventions for the mother and the family. Additionally, the court needed to establish restrictions on parental conduct concerning the children and outline procedures for future communication and potential re-listing of the matter.

Tree J ordered that the children, X and Y, live with the father. The mother was granted specific, limited time with Y, including supervised changeovers and FaceTime calls, with provisions for encouraging X to spend time with her. Crucially, the mother was ordered to undertake targeted therapy, with her therapist to provide a report to the Independent Children's Lawyer (ICL) after a minimum number of sessions. Following this, and upon the therapist's advice, the parties and children were to attend family therapy, with the ultimate aim of reunification counselling. Conditional on compliance with these therapeutic steps, the children and mother would then commence a phased increase in supervised time together. The orders also imposed restrictions on physical discipline, denigration of the other parent, discussion of adult issues, and contact with a third party, Mr J. The parties were also ordered to keep each other informed of contact details and were granted liberty to apply. The matter was listed for a mention on 29 October 2020.