Morison and Chambers & Anor

The proceedings involved the applicant mother, the first respondent father, and the second respondent maternal grandmother, concerning the parenting of two children. At the commencement of the trial, the mother's application was dismissed for want of prosecution, a course she did not oppose. Cleary J presided over the matter.

The court was required to determine the best interests of the children, specifically where they should live and who should hold parental responsibility. This involved assessing the existing relationships the children had with their mother, father, stepmother, and maternal grandmother, and considering the mother's capacity to make decisions in the long-term interests of the children. The court also had to consider whether shared parental responsibility between the father and maternal grandmother would be effective.

Cleary J reasoned that the children did not have a meaningful relationship with their mother and that their most important relationships were with their father, his wife, and the maternal grandmother. The evidence did not suggest conduct within the father's household that would expose the children to abuse, neglect, or family violence. However, the maternal grandmother appeared more focused on evidence gathering than child protection. Given the mother's present lack of capacity and the father's de facto sole parental responsibility, the court found it more appropriate for the father to retain sole parental responsibility, with reporting obligations to both the mother and maternal grandmother. The court ordered that the children live with the father and spend alternate weekends and school holidays with the maternal grandmother. Crucially, both the father and maternal grandmother were restrained from allowing unsupervised contact between the children and the mother.