Rose & Park

In the matter of Rose & Park, Benjamin J of the Family Court of Australia was required to determine parenting orders concerning a child born in October 1995. The dispute involved allegations of sexual abuse by the father towards a stepchild, and findings of sexual arousal by the father towards his biological child, who was over 18 and had experienced sexualised behaviour. The court's primary focus was on ensuring the child's safety and well-being.

The legal issues before the court included the interpretation of the primary considerations under section 60CC(2) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), specifically whether the benefit of a meaningful relationship with both parents should be treated as a given or evaluated. The court also had to determine the appropriate parenting arrangements, including the extent of parental responsibility and the nature and conditions of any time the child might spend with the father, given the serious findings made.

Benjamin J adopted the interpretation that the benefit of a meaningful relationship with both parents under section 60CC(2)(a) requires an evaluation of the nature and quality of that relationship to establish whether it is genuinely beneficial to the child. This prospective enquiry necessitates assessing the extent to which such a relationship would be advantageous to the child in the future. Applying this principle, alongside the paramount consideration of protecting the child from harm under section 60CC(2)(b), the court made orders for equal shared parental responsibility in consultation with each other for major long-term issues, with the child to live with the mother.

The court ordered that the child have supervised time with the father, with specific conditions regarding the supervisor's responsibilities and the location of the contact. The father was restrained from unsupervised time with the child and from approaching or communicating with the child outside of the ordered supervised arrangements. The orders also detailed provisions for communication, school reporting, attendance at school functions, and the sharing of costs associated with counselling and supervised time.