Newstead and Burns

This matter concerned orders made by Macmillan J in the Family Court of Australia regarding the parenting arrangements for two children, B and C. The proceedings involved the father and mother of the children, with the Independent Children's Lawyer's appointment being discharged.

The court was required to determine the specific times the children would spend with their father, including during school holidays and weekends, and to establish protocols for changeovers, communication, and the dissemination of information regarding the children and the proceedings. Further issues included the father's access to school events and information, and restrictions on his ability to enrol the children in extra-curricular activities or have them assessed by specialists without the mother's consent. The court also addressed the father's conduct on social media and his consumption of alcohol or drugs prior to or during his time with the children.

Macmillan J made detailed orders concerning the father's time with the children, specifying alternate weekends, significant portions of school holidays, and particular public holidays and events. The court also ordered that the father's time with the children be suspended on Mother's Day weekend and certain Christmas and Easter periods in alternate years. Protocols for changeovers were established, including supervised changeovers until the end of 2018 and specific locations thereafter, with provisions for late arrivals and the suspension of contact if unsupervised changeovers on non-school days were not possible. The court also mandated communication by text message for certain matters, required notification of serious illness or injury, and permitted the father hospital visits under specific conditions. Crucially, the father was restrained from enrolling the children in extra-curricular activities or having them assessed by specialists without the mother's written consent, and was also restricted from publishing images or information about the children or proceedings on social media, with limited exceptions for personal Facebook posts.

The court ordered the discharge of paragraph 4 of the orders made on 17 February 2016 and paragraph 1 of the orders made on 15 April 2016. The father's time with the children was then detailed in extensive paragraphs, alongside provisions for parental communication, notification of illness, and restrictions on the father's conduct. The appointment of the Independent Children's Lawyer was discharged, and the father's Amended Initiating Application and the mother's Amended Response were dismissed, with the matter removed from the list of pending cases. Documents produced to the court were directed to be returned to their original producers.