POLICE COMMISSIONER OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA & AGUSTINA

In the matter of *Police Commissioner of South Australia & Agustina*, Bennett J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered an application for the return of a 10-year-old girl to the United States of America, pursuant to the Hague Convention. The child had an eight-year-old sibling residing in the United States with the requesting parent, and an infant sibling in Australia with the respondent mother. The respondent mother sought to resist the return order, primarily by applying for a psychiatric assessment of the child to determine the grave risk of harm arising from a further separation from her Australian-based infant sibling.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the respondent mother had established a grave risk of harm to the child, such that the mandatory return order under the Hague Convention should be refused. This involved considering the impact of separating the child from her infant sibling in Australia, and the lack of established communication structures between the siblings and between the child and her mother prior to the child's arrival in Australia. The Court also had to determine whether to grant the respondent mother's oral application for a psychiatric assessment of the child.

Bennett J dismissed the respondent mother's oral application for a psychiatric assessment, finding that the circumstances did not warrant such an assessment at that stage. The Court noted the importance of establishing regular and effective communication between the child and her siblings, and between the child and her mother, and directed that steps be taken to organise a reliable structure for such communication. The Court also ordered the independent representation of the child's interests by a lawyer, an Independent Children's Lawyer, to investigate communication arrangements and the practicalities of a potential return to the United States. The matter was fixed for a final hearing, with the requesting parent to be the first witness.