STAPLETON & BRYANT

This matter concerned parenting orders between the mother and the father regarding their child, S. The dispute involved the allocation of parental responsibility, the child's living arrangements, and the nature and extent of the child's time and communication with each parent. The court was required to determine the best interests of the child in light of the circumstances presented.

The court was tasked with determining the appropriate parenting orders, including whether the mother should have sole parental responsibility, where the child should live, and the terms of the child's time and communication with the father. Additionally, the court considered whether to grant an injunction restraining the father from certain behaviours towards the mother and the child, and whether to dismiss the mother's application to declare the father a vexatious litigant. The court also addressed provisions for the father to receive school information and participate in passport applications, and the mother's authority to obtain a passport in the father's absence.

Thornton J discharged all previous parenting orders and made new orders reflecting the child's wishes. The mother was granted sole parental responsibility, and the child was ordered to live with her. The child was to spend time and communicate with the father in accordance with the child's wishes, with the mother facilitating these interactions, which were to be initiated by the child. The father was permitted to email the child weekly and was subject to several injunctions, including prohibitions against denigrating the mother or child, using physical discipline, using self-destructing emails, and attending certain school or extra-curricular events. The mother's application to declare the father a vexatious litigant was dismissed. By consent, orders were made regarding the father's receipt of school reports and the process for passport applications, with the court authorising the mother to apply for the child's passport in the father's default.