Royle and Dennehy

This matter concerned an application before Judge Terry regarding parenting orders for the child X. The dispute involved the mother, Ms Dennehy, and the father, Mr Royle, concerning the child's living arrangements, parental responsibility, and contact with the father.

The court was required to determine the most appropriate parenting orders for the child X, considering the father's history of family violence and its impact on both the child and the mother. Specifically, the court had to assess whether any form of contact between the father and the child was safe or beneficial, and what protective measures were necessary for the mother and child. The court also considered the child's lack of existing relationship with the father and the potential implications of facilitating such a relationship.

Judge Terry reasoned that the child's safety was paramount and that the father's documented history of violence, lack of remorse, and poor insight into the impact of his actions rendered him an unsafe parent. The court found that the child had been negatively impacted by exposure to family violence and that any attempt to reintroduce the child to the father would likely lead to further proceedings and breakdown of orders. The mother's own diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, stemming from the father's violence, further supported the decision to limit or prohibit contact, as facilitating contact could adversely affect her mental health and parenting capacity. The court applied the principle of making the order least likely to lead to further proceedings, which in this case was an order for no time with the father.

Consequently, the court ordered that the mother have sole parental responsibility for X, with the child to live with her. The father was ordered to have no time or communication with X. Injunctions were granted under s.68B of the *Family Law Act 1975* to protect the child and mother from the father's communication and proximity. The mother was permitted to travel internationally with the child, and an Australian passport was to be issued for X without the father's consent. The father was restrained from removing the child from Australia, with a request for the Australian Federal Police to place the child on the Airport Watch List.