MORTIMER & BEAUFOY

Cleary J determined parenting arrangements for two children, X and Y, in proceedings between their mother and father. The dispute involved cross-allegations of family violence, unsubstantiated allegations of sexual harm by the father, and concerns regarding the father's marijuana use and the mother's emotionally damaging conduct. The father was not the biological father of the children, a fact unknown to them, and their biological fathers were not involved in their lives. The mother initially sought no time or communication with the father but later amended her application during the trial.

The court was required to determine with whom the children would live and spend time, and the allocation of parental responsibility. Specifically, the court had to consider the children's current residence with the mother, the limited time they had spent with the father since late 2019, the expressed views of the elder child (X) not to spend time with the father, and the younger child's (Y) reported lack of issues in either household. The court also had to assess the risks present in each household and determine whether the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility was rebutted.

Cleary J found that the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility was rebutted. The court ordered that the elder child, X, have sole parental responsibility vested in the mother, live with the mother, and spend time and communicate with the father as per X's wishes and by arrangement between them in consultation with the mother. For the younger child, Y, the court ordered sole parental responsibility to the father, that Y live with the father, and for an initial period of three months, spend no time with the mother. Thereafter, Y's time with the mother was to increase incrementally from supervised to unsupervised time each alternate Sunday, with specific provisions for special occasions. The mother was also restrained by injunction from administering medication to Y without the father's provision, using physical discipline, attending Y's school without consent, denigrating the father or his partner, denigrating Y, or bringing Y into contact with a specific individual.