Navickas & Fried (No 3)

In the case of Navickas & Fried (No 3), the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was tasked with determining the best interests of the children, aged 6 and 4, in a parenting dispute between their parents, Mr Fried and Ms Navickas. The court had to decide whether the children should live with their mother or father and if either party posed an unacceptable risk to the children's safety. The court considered extensive evidence, including expert reports, previous judgments, and the parents' submissions, to reach its decision.

The legal issues before the court were whether the children should live with their father or mother, and whether either parent posed an unacceptable risk to the children. The court had to weigh various factors under section 60CC of the Family Law Act 1975, such as the children's safety, their views, their developmental and psychological needs, and the capacity of each parent to meet these needs. The court also had to consider the benefit of the children maintaining a relationship with each parent, where safe to do so.

The court found that Ms Navickas posed an unacceptable risk to the children, making it unsafe for them to live with her. It concluded that the father was better able to provide for the children's safety, developmental, psychological, and cultural needs. The court also considered the potential for family violence and the impact of each parent's behaviour on the children's well-being. Consequently, the court ordered that the children live with their father, with the mother having limited supervised contact. The court imposed strict conditions on the mother to prevent her from engaging in behaviour that could harm the children or interfere with their relationship with the father.

The final orders of the court included the discharge of all previous parenting orders, the allocation of sole parental responsibility to the father, and the establishment of a supervised contact regime for the mother. The court also issued injunctions to protect the father and children from the mother's potentially harmful behaviour and required the parents to exchange information and maintain communication through a specified parenting app. The court further ordered that the father obtain passports for the children and be permitted to travel internationally with them. Additionally, the mother was required to apologise to her legal counsel for a falsehood told during a previous hearing.