Peters and Hennesy and Anor

The case involved an application by a maternal grandmother concerning her grandchildren, X and Y, and the respondent mother. The dispute centred on the terms of contact and communication between the mother and the children, particularly in light of previous Children's Court of Victoria orders and the potential for the Department of Health & Human Services to cease further applications. The matter came before Johns J in the Family Court of Australia.

The court was required to determine whether to grant leave for the applicant to seek final orders on an undefended basis, and to consider the dismissal of an Application in a Case filed by the applicant. Crucially, the court had to decide on the specific terms of contact and communication between the respondent mother and the children, including provisions for holidays, birthdays, and potential suspensions of contact based on the grandmother's assessment of the mother's sobriety or behaviour. The court also needed to address the discharge of previous final orders made in 2010, contingent on the Department of Health & Human Services not proceeding with further applications.

Johns J reasoned that it was appropriate to grant leave for the applicant to proceed with oral application for final orders as agreed between the applicant and the first respondent, on an undefended basis. The court dismissed the applicant's Application in a Case filed on 21 November 2017. The court then made detailed final orders regarding the respondent mother's time and communication with the children, including specific schedules for weekends, weekdays, school holidays, and special occasions. These orders also included a provision for the suspension of contact if the grandmother believed the mother was under the influence of drugs or behaving inappropriately, and required the mother to keep the grandmother informed of her contact details. The court also ordered that previous final orders from 2010 be discharged, provided that the Department of Health & Human Services did not pursue further applications concerning the children. Provisions were also made for the applicant to provide information about family counselling and dispute resolution services, and for the particulars of obligations and consequences of contravention to be included in the orders.