HEWITT & TESSIER

In the matter of *Hewitt & Tessier*, heard before Judge Halligan, the dispute concerned the parenting arrangements for a child born in 2008, specifically whether the child should spend time and communicate with the father. The mother alleged serious and persistent family violence by the father, supported by expert evidence indicating the mother suffered from symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of this violence. The court was required to consider the potential impact on the child of not knowing the father, as well as the direct and indirect effects on the child of spending time or communicating with the father, given the mother's condition.

The court determined that the mother should have sole parental responsibility for the child. The reasoning focused on the need to protect the child from the potential harm arising from the father's alleged family violence and its impact on the mother. The court applied principles of family law concerning the best interests of the child, weighing the mother's allegations and the expert evidence against the father's involvement.

Consequently, the court ordered that the child live with the mother and that the father not spend time or communicate with the child. Further orders were made to restrain the father from removing the child from the Commonwealth of Australia and to place the child's name on the Australian Federal Police Watchlist for three years. The costs application was adjourned.