HELPMAN & PURTON

In the matter of *Helpmann & Purton*, Berman J of the Family Court of Australia considered a dispute between a mother and father concerning their child, B. The mother alleged the father posed an unacceptable risk to the child, while the father sought equal shared parental responsibility. The court also had to determine the appropriate arrangements for the child's time with each parent, including the gradual introduction of unsupervised time for the father.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether to make orders for equal shared parental responsibility or sole parental responsibility for the mother, and what final parenting orders regarding the child's living arrangements and time with each parent were in the best interests of the child. The court also considered the weight to be given to the child's record of interview in circumstances where no application had been made to strike it out, and the mother's genuine, albeit unsubstantiated by the court, belief that the father had sexually abused the child.

Berman J determined that the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility should apply, ordering that the parties have equal shared parental responsibility for B. The court found no evidence to support the mother's allegations of unacceptable risk posed by the father. In reaching this decision, the court considered the importance of the child having a meaningful relationship with both parents and the child's wishes. The court also noted the mother's conduct in promoting a relationship between the father and the child. The court ordered that the child live with the mother and gradually increase the father's time with the child, commencing with supervised time and progressing to unsupervised overnight time by late 2018. The court also ordered the parties to jointly instruct a psychologist with expertise in dealing with children on the Autism Spectrum to facilitate the child's relationship with both parents.