Rivas and Stephen

This matter concerned orders made by Judge Brown regarding the parental responsibility and living arrangements for a child, X. The dispute involved the parents, Mr Rivas and Ms Stephen, and their arrangements for X's care, including significant restrictions placed upon the mother.

The court was required to determine the terms of equal shared parental responsibility, the specific living arrangements for X, and the arrangements for X to spend time with each parent during school holidays and special occasions. Further issues included the communication between X and the father, and significant restraints to be placed on the mother concerning discussions about allegations of sexual abuse, X's paternity, medical treatment, and disparaging remarks about the father. The court also considered provisions for X's health, including an umbilical hernia, and the father's involvement in X's education.

Judge Brown ordered that the parties have equal shared parental responsibility for X. The child was to live with the father on alternate weekends during school terms, extending to Monday if there was a public holiday or pupil-free day, and with the mother at all other times during school terms. Arrangements for school holidays and Christmas were detailed, including an equal shared basis for holidays and a week-about arrangement for Christmas, with specific times allocated for each parent. The court also ordered that X communicate with the father by telephone weekly. Crucially, the mother was restrained from discussing allegations of sexual abuse with X, from telling X that Mr Rivas was not her biological father, and from taking X to medical professionals without informing the father and providing him with contact details, except in emergencies or for minor ailments. The mother was also restrained from disparaging Mr Rivas to X. The father was granted liberty to contact X's school and receive all relevant educational information. All other applications were dismissed.