SHEARMAN & SHEARMAN

In the matter of Shearman & Shearman, Judge Kari considered an application to discharge specific provisions of final parenting orders made on 16 November 2017. The dispute centred on the continued necessity of a strict regime involving the use of a breath alcohol testing device, as stipulated in paragraphs 9 to 13 of the original orders.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the provisions concerning the breath alcohol testing device should be discharged, given the passage of time and the evolving circumstances of the parties and the child. The Court was tasked with determining if these specific orders remained in the best interests of the child.

Judge Kari reasoned that the original orders, which mandated the use of a breath alcohol testing device, were no longer necessary or in the child's best interests. Consequently, the Court ordered the discharge of paragraphs 9 to 13 of the November 2017 orders. In their place, the Court directed that a Family Assessment be carried out by an agreed expert, or failing agreement, by a court-appointed expert. This assessment, to be completed by 26 March 2021 at the parties' joint expense, was to include interviews with the child and observed interactions, and was to address the child's views, the matters set out in sections 60CC, 61DA, and 65DAA of the *Family Law Act 1975*, and any other matters relevant to the child's welfare. The parties were further ordered to facilitate this assessment and were restrained from providing documents to the expert without providing copies to the other party and the Independent Children's Lawyer.