Kelleher and Crothers

The Family Court of Australia, in the matter of Kelleher & Crothers, considered parenting orders concerning three children. The applicant mother, Ms Kelleher, sought sole parental responsibility and orders for the children to live with her, with contact with the father, Mr Crothers, to occur only after appropriate behavioural intervention. The respondent father sought equal shared parental responsibility and significantly more extensive time with the children. The Independent Children's Lawyer (ICL) also proposed orders for the children's welfare.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the children were at an unacceptable risk of harm, particularly in light of the father's use of excessive physical discipline, his refusal to undertake an anger management program, and his failure to avail himself of opportunities for supervised contact. The Court was required to determine the most appropriate parenting orders, considering the best interests of the children, the father's past conduct, and his current willingness to engage in rehabilitative programs.

Justice Kent found that the father's approach to discipline, including the physical assault of the children with a belt following an incident of theft, posed an unacceptable risk of harm. The father's refusal to attend an anger management course or engage in supervised contact at a contact centre, which he viewed as unsuitable for "normal people," demonstrated a lack of insight and a continued adherence to a disciplinary philosophy that the Court deemed inappropriate. The Court noted the findings of the Department of Communities (Child Safety) that the children had suffered emotional and physical harm.

Consequently, the Court ordered that all previous parenting orders be discharged. The children were to live with the mother, who was granted sole parental responsibility for all major long-term issues. The father was permitted limited, supervised time with the children at a contact centre, contingent upon his completion of an intake process at the centre, attendance at a post-separation parenting program, and completion of an anger management program. The children were also to be at liberty to telephone the father at specified times. The parties were restrained from using any physical discipline on the children.