Phillips and Walker

In the matter of *Phillips and Walker*, Bennett J of the Family Court of Australia was required to make orders concerning the parenting arrangements for the child, B. The proceedings involved the mother and father of B, and an independent children's lawyer. The court was dealing with a dispute regarding the child's welfare and the appropriate parenting orders.

The primary legal issues before the court were how to best ascertain the child's best interests, the scope of information to be considered in that determination, and the appropriate procedural steps to facilitate a resolution. Specifically, the court needed to determine the content and purpose of a family report, the extent to which certain documents should be disclosed to the parties, and the future conduct of the proceedings.

Bennett J directed that a full family report be prepared, outlining specific matters for the family consultant to address, including the child's views, the parents' capacity to cooperate, observations of the parties with the child, and recommendations for resolution. The court also directed the disclosure of a section 67ZW response from the Department of Health and Human Services to all parties. Crucially, the court discharged a previous order authorising the release of documents produced by C Health, limiting their inspection at that stage to the independent children's lawyer, while reserving for further consideration the release of these documents to other parties. The matter was referred to a Registrar to be fixed for hearing as a threshold issue following the release of the family report.