Lambourgh and Gerder and Anor

In *Lambourgh and Gerder and Anor*, Cohen J of the Family Court of Australia considered orders concerning the residence and contact arrangements for a child, P. The proceedings involved the child's father, the child's mother (C Lambourgh), and the maternal grandmother (Gerder). The dispute centred on the welfare of the child and the appropriate arrangements for her care and contact with her family members.

The court was required to determine several critical issues, including where the child should reside, who should have parental responsibility, and the nature and extent of contact between the child and her mother and maternal grandmother. A significant aspect of the determination involved assessing the risks posed by the mother and maternal grandmother to the child and fashioning orders to mitigate those risks while still allowing for some form of contact.

Cohen J ordered that the child shall reside with the father, who was granted sole parental responsibility. The father was restrained from permitting the mother to reside in the same home as the child or to be in the child's company without another adult present. Furthermore, both the mother and the maternal grandmother were restrained from face-to-face contact with the child unless in the presence of a court-approved supervisor. The court reserved the determination of the identity of supervisors and the time and extent of supervised contact to a future date, and costs were also reserved. Existing orders from the Federal Magistrates Court were discharged to the extent they were operative.