Short & Trevilian (No. 3)

In *Short & Trevilian (No. 3)*, the mother applied to the court seeking to suspend the father's time with the eldest child and alleging contempt and contravention of previous orders. The father, who was not present at the hearing, admitted to spending time with the child but contended it was consistent with the terms of the existing orders, which stipulated that his time with the child was to be supervised by school staff.

The court was required to determine whether the father had contravened or been in contempt of previous orders, and crucially, to consider the best interests of the child in making an urgent interim order regarding contact and communication. The court also had to decide on the appropriate period of adjournment for the proceedings.

Applying the paramount consideration of the child's best interests, Dawe J made an urgent interim order suspending all existing orders concerning the father spending time with or communicating with the child S. Furthermore, the father was restrained by injunction from communicating with S in any manner, spending any time with S, or approaching or remaining within 200 metres of S during the period of the adjournment. The contravention and contempt applications were listed for a final hearing, with the matter of costs reserved.