Oscar & Delaware; Oscar & Austen

In the Family Court of Australia, the case of Oscar & Delaware; Oscar & Austen involved an appeal by the father, Mr Oscar, against orders made by the trial judge prohibiting him from having any contact or communication with his two daughters, Z and B, except by cards or letters on five occasions per year. The appeals were dismissed by the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia, consisting of Bryant CJ, Thackray and Ainslie-Wallace JJ. The court found no merit in the father's grounds of appeal and dismissed the applications in the appeal. The father had raised several grounds for appeal, including complaints about the Independent Children's Lawyer's potential conflict of interest, the concurrent hearing of the two proceedings, the trial judge's treatment of the mothers' evidence, and the absence of definitive findings on sexual and physical abuse. The court found that the trial judge had properly considered the evidence and the impact on the children and their mothers, and that the decision not to allow any contact between the father and the children was well within the trial judge's discretion. The Full Court also dismissed the applications in the appeal, including the Independent Children's Lawyer's application to add a document to the appeal books and the mother's application to introduce further evidence. The court decided not to make any orders for costs, taking into account the father's limited resources and the $2,500 costs order already made by May J.