OLAF & MILNE

The case involved a dispute between the father and mother concerning parental responsibility and time arrangements for their two children, X and Y. The father sought equal shared parental responsibility for both children, while the mother sought sole parental responsibility and a reduction in the children's unsupervised time with the father, including a period of supervised time. The eldest child, X, had expressed a wish not to spend time with the father, a view supported by the mother. The court was hearing the matter before Baumann J.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether to grant equal shared parental responsibility or sole parental responsibility, and what time arrangements were in the best interests of the children, particularly in light of the eldest child's expressed wishes and the court's assessment of the parents' capacity to support the children's relationship with each other. The court was also required to consider the level of emotional harm the children were experiencing in the care of each parent and the mother's support for the children's relationship with the father.

Baumann J found that there was no confidence that any prescribed order for the eldest child to spend time with the father would be sustained, and that the mother had not genuinely supported the children's relationship with the father. The court determined that both children were experiencing a level of mostly emotional harm in the care of each parent. Consequently, no prescribed orders for time were made for the eldest child, allowing her to spend time and communicate with the father in accordance with her wishes, with the mother to facilitate reasonable time if X expressed a desire to do so. For the youngest child, Y, orders were made for alternate weekend time with the father, along with provisions for communication and school holiday arrangements. The court ultimately made an order for equal shared parental responsibility for major long-term parenting issues.