Nathanson & Younge

In the case of Nathanson and Younge, the court considered an application by the father, Nathanson, for parenting orders concerning the children of the relationship, X and Y, born in 2013. The father, currently incarcerated, sought sole parental responsibility or, alternatively, equal shared parental responsibility, and specific living arrangements and contact with the children. The mother, Younge, opposed the father's application and sought sole parental responsibility, no contact with the father, and for the children to live with her. The court was required to determine whether the father's application had reasonable prospects of success and, if not, to make appropriate parenting orders in the best interests of the children.

The court noted that the father had a history of criminal offending, including violence and drug use, and had been incarcerated for assaulting the mother. The father's current sentence was reduced on appeal from eleven years to ten years, with eligibility for parole at the end of 2026. The court found that the father's application had no reasonable prospects of success and that the children's best interests were served by awarding sole parental responsibility to the mother, with no contact with the father.

The court's decision was based on the father's history of violence, drug use, and criminal offending, as well as the mother's evidence that the father had provided little to no care for the children and had put them at risk of harm on several occasions. The court concluded that it was in the best interests of the children for them to have no contact with their father and for the mother to have sole parental responsibility. The children would live with the mother, and the mother was authorised to apply for Australian passports for the children and to change their surnames from Nathanson to Younge.

The court made orders dismissing the father's application, awarding sole parental responsibility to the mother, and prohibiting the father from having any contact with the children. The mother was authorised to apply for Australian passports for the children and to change their surnames to Younge. The court noted that the particulars of the obligations, consequences of non-compliance, and assistance available to the parties were set out in the attached Fact Sheet and were included in the orders.