MANZIATI & MANZIATI

The case of *Manziati & Manziati* involved an application by the father concerning parenting orders for the child, B. The respondent mother had alleged that the father had sexually abused the child. The central dispute before the court was whether the father posed an unacceptable risk to the child, and consequently, whether his time with the child should be supervised.

The court was required to determine the best interests of the child, B, in light of the serious allegations made by the mother. Specifically, the court had to assess the credibility of the allegations of sexual abuse and decide whether the father presented an unacceptable risk to the child's physical and emotional well-being. This assessment would then inform the court's decision regarding the nature and extent of the father's future time with the child.

Forrest J found that it was unlikely that the father had sexually abused the child. Applying the paramount consideration of the child's best interests, the court determined that the child was not in a position of unacceptable risk when placed in the father's care. Consequently, the court ordered that the father should have unsupervised time with the child. The orders discharged all existing parenting orders and established equal shared parental responsibility, with the child to live with the mother and spend significant unsupervised time with the father, as detailed in the specific provisions of the orders.