MOHER & GIKAS

This case involved parenting orders concerning a child, [X], born in 2001. The proceedings were initiated with the mother as the applicant and the father as the respondent. However, by the time of the final hearing, the father had effectively become the applicant and the mother the respondent, with the primary dispute centering on the time the child should spend with the father and other parenting arrangements. The matter was heard by Judge Altobelli in the Family Court of Australia.

The court was required to determine the specific parenting orders that would best serve the child's welfare and development, given the long-standing litigation between the parents and their inability to reach agreement on these matters. This included establishing arrangements for equal shared parental responsibility, the child's living arrangements, and the specific times the child would spend with each parent, including during school terms, holidays, and special occasions. The court also needed to address communication between the parents regarding the child and restrictions on parental conduct in the child's presence.

Judge Altobelli considered the evidence, including that of a Family Consultant, and the views of the child, who was 13 years old at the time of the final hearing. The court discharged all previous parenting orders and made new orders reflecting a regime of equal shared parental responsibility. The child was ordered to live with the mother, with specific, detailed arrangements for the child to spend time with the father. These arrangements included provisions for school terms, school holidays, the child's birthday, and other significant days, with specific times and durations outlined. The court also imposed orders restraining the parents from discussing the proceedings or denigrating each other in the child's presence, requiring notification of sickness or injury, and mandating the exchange of information regarding significant developmental milestones. Further orders addressed changeover procedures, the child's attendance at school functions and extracurricular activities, and restrictions on the father attending the child's school when the child was living with the mother, with specific exceptions.