Harris and Jackson

This case, heard in the Family Court of Australia at Brisbane, concerned parenting orders for a child, E, born in July 2003. The applicant mother, Ms Harris, failed to appear and did not provide any information to the court. The respondent father, Mr Jackson, appeared in person. An Independent Children’s Lawyer, Mary Buchanan, also appeared.

The court was required to determine the primary caregiver for the child, the allocation of parental responsibility, the nature and extent of any contact between the mother and the child, and whether an injunction should be granted against a step-brother, Mr T, from contacting the child. The court also considered the mother's failure to comply with previous court orders for the provision of further material.

Justice Bell noted the long and dysfunctional history of the proceedings, including multiple family reports and previous contested hearings. The mother's lack of engagement and failure to provide any substantive proposals or material led the court to conclude that the child should live with the father and that the father should have sole parental responsibility. The court ordered that the mother could spend time and communicate with the child at times agreed between the parties, or as determined by the court, acknowledging that this was the furthest the court could go given the lack of satisfactory proposals from the mother. An injunction was granted restraining Mr T from coming into contact with the child, due to concerns about his influence.

All previous orders were discharged. The child was ordered to live with the father, who was granted sole parental responsibility. The mother was to spend time and communicate with the child as agreed between the parties. Mr T was restrained by injunction from coming into contact with the child. The Independent Children’s Lawyer was discharged.