Kent & Shaw (No. 3)

This matter came before Dawe J concerning a dispute between a mother and father regarding their child, M. The proceedings involved allegations of sexual abuse by the father against M, which had previously been the subject of findings by Justice Strickland. The court was tasked with determining the appropriate orders for therapy and the future parenting arrangements for M.

The central legal issues before the court were: first, the extent to which previous orders regarding the allegations of sexual abuse should be discharged or modified; second, the nature and purpose of therapeutic interventions required for the mother, the child M, and the father; and third, the specific regime for supervised and unsupervised time between M and her father, including the method of handover. The court also had to determine the allocation of costs for the proposed therapy.

Dawe J discharged paragraphs (4) to (11) of Justice Strickland's previous orders. The court then made detailed orders for therapy for the mother, M, and the father, with specific objectives for each. The mother was ordered to accept Justice Strickland's findings regarding the abuse allegations and to parent M in circumstances where M would be informed that the father did not sexually abuse her and would be spending time with him. M was to be informed of this fact and supported in her relationship with her father. The father was to receive therapy to manage emotions related to the accusations. Ms C was appointed as the therapist, and the court set out a phased approach to M spending time with her father, commencing with introductions by Ms C or supervised contact at the Y Contact Centre, and gradually increasing the duration and frequency of time spent together. The court also specified handover arrangements and allocated costs for the therapy. The matter was adjourned for mention.