Jamal and Akbar

This matter concerned parenting orders for the child B, born in 2008. The dispute involved the mother and father, and the court was required to determine the future parenting arrangements for the child.

The court was tasked with determining the appropriate parenting orders, including the discharge of previous orders, the allocation of parental responsibility, the child's living arrangements, and the specific arrangements for the child to spend time with each parent. Further issues included the supervision of contact, changeover procedures, provisions for make-up time, communication between parents regarding the child's welfare and education, and the involvement of therapeutic professionals. The court also had to consider orders restraining certain behaviours between the parents and addressing any disclosures made by the child.

Foster J discharged all previous parenting orders and made new orders establishing equal shared parental responsibility. The child was ordered to live with the mother, with specific, phased arrangements for the child to spend time with the father. These arrangements commenced with therapeutic intervention and supervision, gradually transitioning to unsupervised time. The orders also mandated the parents' attendance at therapeutic counselling, prohibited denigration of each other in the child's presence, and restricted physical discipline. Provisions were made for information sharing between parents and professionals, and for the child's attendance upon therapeutic counselling. The father was also ordered to continue attending psychological and psychiatric appointments at his own expense. All other applications before the court were dismissed.