KOVAC & HURST

The Family Court of Australia considered competing applications by the mother, Ms Kovac, and the father, Mr Hurst, concerning the parenting arrangements for their two children. The mother alleged that the children were at an unacceptable risk of harm in the father's unsupervised care, specifically alleging sexual abuse and inappropriate conduct by the father towards the children. She sought orders for sole parental responsibility, supervised time only for the father, and permission to relocate the children to Victoria. The father denied all allegations of abuse and sought orders for significant time with the children, opposing the relocation. The Independent Children's Lawyer recommended sole parental responsibility for the mother, relocation to Victoria, and a modified schedule for the father's time with the children.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether it was in the best interests of the children to grant the mother sole parental responsibility, whether the mother should be permitted to relocate the children to Victoria, and the appropriate nature and extent of the father's time with the children, considering the allegations of sexualised play and the parents' poor co-parenting relationship. The Court was required to assess the risk of harm to the children in each parent's care and determine how to best promote the children's relationship with both parents, given their strong attachments.

Justice Stevenson found that while the children had engaged in concerning sexualised play, there was not an unacceptable risk of harm in the father's household. However, the Court determined that the parents' inability to communicate and co-parent effectively meant that equal shared parental responsibility was not in the children's best interests. The Court also concluded that it was not in the children's best interests to minimise the father's role in their lives, despite the mother's desire to relocate to Victoria. The Court applied the principles outlined in sections 60B, 60CC, 61DA, and 65DAA of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), considering the children's right to have a meaningful relationship with both parents and the need to protect them from harm.

The Court ordered that the mother have sole parental responsibility for the children, with specific provisions requiring her to seek and take into account the father's views on long-term decisions and keep him informed. The children were ordered to live with the mother, and their time with the father was significantly structured, commencing with supervised time and progressing to alternate weekends and half of school holidays, with detailed provisions for birthdays and Christmas. The mother was permitted to relocate the children to Victoria, and each parent was authorised to travel interstate or overseas with the children under specific conditions.