Hemman and Kallum

In the matter of Hemman and Kallum, Bennett J of the Family Court of Australia made orders concerning the parenting of a child, B HAMMAN-NANDAN, born in February 2003. The dispute involved the mother and father of the child, with the court ultimately determining the arrangements for the child's upbringing and the surname to be used.

The court was required to determine the primary caregiver for the child, the living arrangements, and the extent of the father's time and communication with the child. Additionally, the court considered the child's surname and the father's conduct in relation to alcohol and drug consumption when interacting with the child. The court also addressed the dismissal of certain applications and the provision of information regarding the child's schooling and health.

Bennett J ordered that the mother have sole parental responsibility for the child and that the child live with the mother. The father's time and communication with the child were to be as agreed between the parties and supervised by a person nominated by the mother, with no enforceable order for unsupervised time currently in place. The father was also ordered not to consume alcohol or illicit drugs 48 hours prior to or during any time spent with the child and to notify the mother or supervisor if he had done so. The court further ordered that the child's surname be exclusively HAMMAN, authorising the mother to change the child's registered name accordingly. The father was ordered to contribute to the mother's costs and to provide his contact details for communication regarding the child. The father's response seeking parenting orders was dismissed, as was the mother's amended application, with the matter removed from the pending cases list. The court also discharged the order for an independent children's lawyer.