Hewitt and Fenn and Anor

The case of *Hewitt and Fenn and Anor* involved a dispute concerning the parenting of a child, B. The parties were the child's mother, the father, and the paternal grandmother who intervened as a party. The central issue was determining the best interests of the child, particularly regarding his living arrangements and parental responsibility, in circumstances where the father posed a risk of psychological harm.

The court was required to determine whether the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility applied, given allegations of family violence by the father. It also had to decide with whom the child should live and the extent of parental responsibility to be allocated, considering the meaningful relationships the child had with his mother, father, and paternal grandparents, and the potential for the child to experience tension and anxiety if required to spend time with the father.

Austin J found that the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility did not apply due to reasonable grounds to believe the father had engaged in family violence. The court concluded that the father posed a potent risk of psychological harm to the child through exposure to his violent conduct, and that the paternal grandparents would not be able to satisfactorily supervise the child with the father. The court determined that the child’s best interests were served by living with the mother, who would have sole parental responsibility. The father and paternal grandmother were restrained from approaching the mother's home or the child's school, but were permitted to send occasional written correspondence to the child.