Sedgwick & Lind

In the matter of *Sedgwick & Lind*, heard by McClelland DCJ, the father sought orders for equal shared parental responsibility and regular unsupervised time with the child, X. The mother sought sole parental responsibility and no contact between X and the father. X had not had contact with her father for over six years, and the father opposed professional supervision of any contact. X expressed a wish not to be compelled to contact her father.

The court was required to determine the paramount issue of risk to the child, considering the father's history of anger management issues, abusive, coercive, and controlling conduct in past relationships, and findings that he had perpetrated significant injuries to an infant child over time. The court also had to consider the child's views, the nature of her relationship with each parent, the parents' capacity to provide for the child's needs, and the practical difficulties and potential risks associated with any contact.

McClelland DCJ found that the risk to the child outweighed the benefits of a meaningful relationship with the father. The court was not satisfied that supervision would mitigate the identified risks. The court noted the father's credibility was affected by inaccuracies in his evidence regarding income and past substance abuse, and his admission of breaching an interim apprehended domestic violence order. The court accepted the opinion of a family consultant that a father with anger management issues and a history of abusive intimate relationships could exhibit deficiencies in parenting, including a lack of empathy and sensitivity towards the child, and potentially use the child as a weapon against the other parent.

Consequently, the court ordered that the mother have sole parental responsibility for X, that X live with the mother, and that X have no time or communication with the father. Previous orders were discharged, including those placing the child on the Airport Watch List, and the mother was granted sole authority to apply for an Australian passport for X and to travel internationally with the child.