Standen and Standen

This matter concerned parenting orders made by Loughnan J in the Family Court of Australia. The proceedings involved the parents of two children, B (born 2002) and C (born 1997), and addressed the arrangements for their living arrangements, parental responsibility, and time spent with each other and their parents. The court also considered the involvement of the maternal grandparents and the need for counselling for child C.

The central legal issues before the court were: determining the primary living arrangements for B and C; allocating sole parental responsibility for long-term decisions concerning each child; establishing a regime for the children to spend time with each other and with their parents, including supervised contact arrangements and arrangements at the maternal grandparents' home; and mandating counselling for child C to address issues identified in a report by Dr E, with provisions for parental and grandparental participation. The court also had to consider the practical implementation of these orders, including communication between parents, financial responsibilities for counselling and contact centres, and the mother's ability to obtain a passport for B and travel internationally with her.

Loughnan J's reasoning led to orders that discharged previous parenting orders, with B to live with the mother and have sole parental responsibility for her long-term care, and C to live with the father and have sole parental responsibility for his long-term care. The court established a detailed schedule for the children to spend time together, initially at a community contact centre and later at the maternal grandparents' home, with provisions for parental involvement during contact. Crucially, the father was ordered to cause C to attend counselling, with the mother and maternal grandparents also to participate if requested by the counsellor. The court also made orders regarding communication, information sharing, and the prevention of denigration between parents, and permitted the mother to obtain a passport for B and travel internationally under specific conditions. The proceedings were listed for review in December 2012, with a Family Consultant to prepare a report on C's progress and the children's relationships.