REILLY & SULLY

In this matter before Johnston J, the court considered competing applications concerning the parental responsibility, residence, and time spent with a child, B. The mother sought sole parental responsibility and for B to live with her, with permission to relocate interstate to Adelaide. The father sought sole parental responsibility and for B to live with him, or alternatively, a shared care arrangement. The mother also sought that B have no contact with the father.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether to grant sole parental responsibility to either parent, where B should live, and the nature and extent of time B should spend with the father, including the mother's application to relocate interstate. The court was also required to determine an application for costs made by the Independent Children’s Lawyer against the father.

His Honour determined that a shared care arrangement was inappropriate given the highly acrimonious relationship between the parents. The court found that B's relationship with the mother would likely be lost if B were placed in the sole care of the father. Consequently, orders were made for the mother to have sole parental responsibility and for B to live with her, permitting her to relocate B's residence to Adelaide. Specific orders were made regarding supervised time B would spend with the father, including injunctions to prevent the father from denigrating the mother or questioning B about her. The application for costs by the Independent Children’s Lawyer against the father was dismissed, with the court finding it would not be just to make such an order given the father's strained financial circumstances.