LUCKACS & HAMER

In the matter of *Luckacs & Hamer*, Foster J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia was required to determine interim parenting orders concerning a child, B, born in 2014. The dispute involved the mother and father of the child, with the paternal grandmother, Kathleen Hamer, also named in the orders.

The court was tasked with determining the interim parental responsibility for the child, where the child would live, the arrangements for the child to spend time with the father, and whether any specific restrictions should be placed on the father's care of the child. A key issue was the father's ability to provide unsupervised care, particularly in relation to the paternal grandmother.

Foster J made interim orders granting the mother parental responsibility and ordering that the child live with her. The child was to spend time with the father on two days per week, subject to written agreement between the parents, or by the father nominating days with 14 days' written notice, provided these days coincided with his availability for primary care. The mother was ordered to facilitate the child's transport to and from the father's care, provided the father's residence did not exceed his current distance from a specified address. Crucially, the father was restrained from leaving the child in the unsupervised care of the paternal grandmother or leaving the child unsupervised at any other time. The proceedings were adjourned for further directions.