O’HARA & O’HARA ((No.2)

In *O’Hara & O’Hara ((No.2))*, the mother sought to commence fresh parenting proceedings following final orders made on 19 March 2020. The dispute centred on allegations of sexual abuse and the determination of risk in relation to the children. The proceedings were heard by Judge Obradovic.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the mother had satisfied the criteria established in *Rice v Asplund* to permit the commencement of fresh parenting proceedings after final orders had been made. This involved assessing whether there had been a material change in circumstances or if the court had not been aware of relevant facts at the time of the original orders, which would justify revisiting the parenting arrangements.

Judge Obradovic determined that the threshold set by *Rice v Asplund* had not been met. The court found that the allegations of sexual abuse, while serious, did not present a sufficient change in circumstances or newly discovered relevant facts to warrant setting aside the final orders and commencing new proceedings. Consequently, the mother's application was dismissed. The court also dismissed the father's application for costs and removed all outstanding issues from the list of cases pending finalisation.