STEYN & GARRETY

In this matter before Cleary J, the court considered applications concerning the living arrangements and parental responsibility for two children, B and C. The dispute arose following final orders made four years prior, which had stipulated that the children live with their father. The mother sought to vary these orders, alleging that her previous cessation of time and communication with the children was due to chaotic and destructive interactions, and that a different parenting arrangement was now necessary due to the children's emotional distress stemming from parental conflict.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the existing final orders regarding the children's residence and parental responsibility should be discharged and, if so, what new orders would be in the best interests of B and C. Specifically, the court had to determine with whom the children should live, who should hold parental responsibility for long-term decisions, and the nature and extent of time and communication the children should have with each parent, considering the entrenched conflict and the children's emotional well-being.

Cleary J reasoned that the existing parenting arrangement was no longer in the children's best interests, citing the extreme emotional pressure and damage they were experiencing due to ongoing parental conflict. The court found that the father and step-mother had demonstrated an inability to facilitate a relationship between the mother and the children, and that the step-mother's actions had actively sought to exclude the mother. The mother, conversely, had remained committed to the children and had successfully filed contravention applications since the previous orders. Consequently, the court concluded that the children would be better protected by living with the mother, who was also better placed to facilitate their relationship with the paternal family. The court also determined that sole parental responsibility was necessary, and that this responsibility should rest with the parent with whom the children live.

The court ordered that all prior parenting orders be discharged. The children were ordered to live with the mother, who was granted sole parental responsibility for long-term decisions concerning their welfare and upbringing, with the obligation to keep the father informed in writing. Each parent was granted parental responsibility for day-to-day decisions when the children are with them. The children were to spend no time with the father for an initial period of 10 weeks, after which time and communication arrangements, including supervised contact at a contact centre and progressively increasing holiday time, were detailed. The step-mother was restrained from attending or being in the vicinity of changeovers. The court also imposed restraints on both parents from denigrating each other or their families in the presence of the children and from discussing the proceedings with the children.