NASHI & SHONA

In the matter of NASHI & SHONA, heard by Hannam J, the dispute concerned the living arrangements and parental responsibility for a child, B, born in 2007. The father did not participate in the proceedings, which proceeded as an undefended final hearing.

The court was required to determine the best interests of the child, specifically with whom the child should live, with whom the child should spend time, and the nature of parental responsibility. Key issues before the court included allegations of family violence, the father's mental health, and whether there was an unacceptable risk of harm to the child. The court also considered the child's relationship with each parent, each parent's capacity to meet the child's needs, and their respective attitudes towards the child and their parental responsibilities, including issues of travel.

Hannam J applied the principles of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), focusing on the paramount consideration of the child's best interests and the need to protect the child from harm. The court found that there was an unacceptable risk of harm to the child arising from the father's conduct and mental health. Consequently, the court determined that it was in the child's best interests for the mother to have sole parental responsibility and for the child to live with her. The court also ordered that the child should not spend any time or communicate with the father, and made significant injunctions to protect the mother and child from the father, including prohibitions on approaching them or their residences and places of employment or education, with the power of arrest attached.

The court further ordered that the mother have sole parental responsibility for the purposes of the *Australian Passports Act 2005* (Cth), authorising her to obtain a passport for the child without the father's consent. Finally, pursuant to s 65Y of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), the mother was authorised to remove the child from the Commonwealth of Australia for travel at her discretion.