MASIH & EL SAEID

This matter concerned parenting orders made by Loughnan J in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The dispute involved the mother and father of two children, R and Q, regarding their future care and time spent with each parent.

The court was required to determine the primary caregiver for the children, the allocation of parental responsibility, and the specific arrangements for the children to spend time with each parent, including during school terms and holidays. Additionally, the court needed to address the children's therapeutic needs and establish orders to prevent denigration of one parent by the other and to ensure the children's safety.

Loughnan J discharged all existing parenting orders and made new orders reflecting a primary caregiver model. The mother was granted sole parental responsibility for the children, with specific provisions for the father to be notified of and take into account major decisions concerning the children's health, education, and religious observance. The children were ordered to live with the mother. The court then detailed a phased approach to the children spending time with the father, commencing with supervised contact at a contact centre for a two-month period, transitioning to unsupervised time during school terms and holidays, with specific arrangements for alternate weekends and Thursdays, and a division of school holiday periods. The orders also included provisions for the children to attend therapy, with a preference for a therapist from their social and religious background, and imposed mutual restraints on each parent from denigrating the other or striking the children. The court also incorporated a fact sheet detailing the obligations and consequences of contravention of the orders, pursuant to sections 62B and 65DA(2) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth). Leave was granted for parties to apply to amend the wording of the orders within 28 days.