JEFFREYS & BOSNIC

In the matter of JEFFREYS & BOSNIC, Cronin J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia made orders concerning parenting arrangements for a child, B, born in 2008. The dispute involved the father and mother of the child, with the court ultimately discharging all extant parenting orders and making new arrangements for the child's residence, parental responsibility, and time spent with each parent.

The court was required to determine the most appropriate parenting orders for the child, considering the best interests of B. This involved assessing the level of parental responsibility each parent should have, where the child should live, and the nature and extent of the time the child would spend with the mother. The court also had to consider the conditions under which such time would occur, including supervision arrangements and the mother's drug use.

Cronin J's reasoning led to the father having sole parental responsibility for B, with the child to live with him. The mother was granted supervised time with the child on alternate Sundays, with specific conditions regarding supervision by named individuals and agreement on handover arrangements. Crucially, the mother was restrained from illicit drug use in the 24 hours prior to and during her time with the child, by consent. Both parents were also restrained by injunction from denigrating each other in the child's presence. The court also ordered that particulars of the obligations and consequences of contravening the orders be set out in an attached Fact Sheet, and discharged the Independent Children's Lawyer.