Pincher and Hinze

In the Family Court of Australia, Murphy J made orders concerning the time a child born in February 2006 would spend with their father. The proceedings involved the mother and the father, with an Independent Children's Lawyer also participating.

The court was required to determine the specific arrangements for the child's time with the father, including supervised contact, unsupervised contact with facilitated changeovers, and telephone contact. Additionally, the court addressed the practicalities of these arrangements, such as the location and attendance at changeovers, the costs associated with supervised contact, and the process for arranging contact centre interviews. The court also made directions regarding the return of questionnaires, the issuance of subpoenas by the Independent Children's Lawyer, notification of family report interviews, and the mother's obligation to ensure the child's attendance at those interviews.

Murphy J ordered that the child would spend time with the father as agreed between the parties, or failing agreement, according to a detailed schedule. This schedule included specific dates for supervised contact at a contact centre, and dates for unsupervised contact with changeovers to be facilitated by the mother's relatives. The court stipulated that neither the mother nor the maternal grandmother were to be present at these facilitated changeovers. The costs of the supervised contact were to be shared equally, and parties were directed to arrange intake interviews with the contact centre. Telephone contact was also ordered, with the father to initiate calls on specified evenings. The court also included particulars of obligations and consequences of contravention in a fact sheet attached to the orders, pursuant to sections 65DA(2) and 62B of the relevant legislation.