Oliveri and Oliveri (No. 4)

In *Oliveri and Oliveri (No. 4)*, Berman J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the father to vary existing parenting orders concerning the time he spent with his two children. The father sought an increase in his time with the children and for that time to be unsupervised, while the mother opposed any increase or unsupervised time, given previous allegations of family violence and ongoing concerns about the father's attunement to the children. The court also addressed a discovery dispute concerning a 76-page document for which the wife claimed legal professional privilege.

The primary legal issues before the court were: (1) whether the father's time with the children should be increased and made unsupervised, having regard to the children's best interests, the history of family violence allegations, and the father's engagement in counselling; and (2) whether the wife had established legal professional privilege over a 76-page document, and if not, whether it was relevant and should be produced to the father.

On the parenting issue, the court noted that previous orders had reduced the father's time to reflect the mother's anxiety and concerns about the husband's conduct, as well as recommendations from a family consultant. While the father sought significantly more time, citing a desire to rebuild his relationship and bond with the children, the mother opposed this, pointing to unresolved issues and the children's anxious and aggressive conduct upon return. The court ultimately varied the existing orders to increase the father's time with the children to alternate Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, commencing from July 2020. Regarding the discovery issue, the court found that the wife had not established that the 76-page document was created for the dominant purpose of obtaining legal advice, noting it appeared to have been prepared with the assistance of a domestic violence worker and likely to assist in criminal proceedings.

Consequently, the court ordered that the wife forthwith produce a copy of the 76-page document to the husband. The parenting orders were varied to increase the father's supervised time with the children to alternate Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.