KADEJEVIC & KADEJEVIC

In the matter of *Kadejevic & Kadejevic*, the mother sought a variation of existing consent orders concerning her time with the children, which the father opposed. The court was presided over by McClelland J.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the mother's application to vary the consent orders should be granted, considering her recovery from a history of alcohol addiction, and how the best interests of the children, as guided by section 60CC of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), should be prioritised in light of this history. The court was required to assess the risk associated with unsupervised time between the mother and children during her early stages of rehabilitation.

McClelland J applied the principles discussed in *Rice v Asplund* and considered the mother's commitment to her rehabilitation and her period of abstinence from alcohol. The court found that there was an unacceptable risk in allowing the children to spend time with the mother without a responsible adult present, given her ongoing recovery. Consequently, the court determined it was impracticable to make orders for equal or substantial and significant time with the mother at that juncture.

The court varied the consent orders to increase the children's time with the mother, but this time was to be supervised by the maternal grandmother, her husband, or another mutually agreed-upon person. The mother was also ordered to collect the children from school during school terms and from the former matrimonial home on non-school days.