PACE & FORSYTH

In the matter of PACE & FORSYTH, Judge Scarlett of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia considered parenting orders concerning three children aged 16, 14, and 12. The dispute centred on whether contact should resume between the father and his children, whom he had not seen for eight years, against a backdrop of a family violence order and the father's imprisonment for aggravated burglary. The court also had to consider the wishes of the children and whether their names should remain on the Family Law Watch List.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether to make new parenting orders, specifically regarding sole parental responsibility and the resumption of contact, and whether to remove the children's names from the Family Law Watch List. Additionally, the court considered an application to prohibit the father from making further parenting applications for six years, taking into account the eldest daughter's impending age of majority.

Judge Scarlett applied the paramount principle of the best interests of the children. The court noted the significant period of estrangement, the existence of a family violence order, and the father's criminal history. The wishes of the children, while not explicitly detailed in the provided text, were a factor in the court's determination. The court also considered the principle established in *Rice & Asplund*, which guides the court's approach to applications for final parenting orders when children are nearing the age of 18.

The court ordered that all earlier parenting orders be discharged and that the Respondent Mother have sole parental responsibility for the children for all long-term and day-to-day decisions. The children were to reside with the mother, and the father was permitted to send cards and letters to the children via the mother's solicitors. Crucially, the court ordered that the children's names be removed from the Family Law Watch List forthwith. All other applications were dismissed.