Kerr & Sloan

In *Kerr & Sloan*, Dawe J considered applications concerning the living arrangements, parental responsibility, and change of name for a child. The father had discontinued his application for final orders and proceeded on an undefended basis.

The court was required to determine whether the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility applied, and if not, how parental responsibility should be allocated. Further, the court had to decide whether to grant the mother's application for a change of the child's surname and, if so, the extent of the father's involvement in that process. The paramount consideration in both matters was the best interests of the child.

Dawe J found that the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility was rebutted due to family violence, and that there was a significant risk of psychological abuse to the child by the father. Consequently, it was not in the child's best interests to spend time with the father. Regarding the name change, the court considered the benefit and detriment to the child, potential confusion, and the child's wishes, ultimately determining that the change was in the child's best interests. The court ordered that the child live with the mother and that the mother have sole parental responsibility. The father was restrained from attending at the mother's residence, workplace, or contacting her directly or indirectly, and from attending at the child's or siblings' schools. The child was to be known as Robert Kerr Sloan, with the mother authorised to amend the child's birth registration to reflect the surname Sloan.