Swane and Thomes & Anor

This matter concerned an application by the mother, Ms Swane, against the father, Mr Thomes, and the paternal grandparents, Mr and Ms A Thomes, regarding time spent with the parties' children. The mother sought orders for the children to live with her and for any time the father spent with the children to be supervised at a contact centre, alleging the father posed an unacceptable risk of harm due to his alleged perpetration of family violence, including threats to kill her. The mother also sought supervised time between the children and the paternal grandparents, as she believed they would be unable to prevent the father from removing the children if he were present.

The court was required to determine the paramountcy of the children's welfare and whether the father posed an unacceptable risk of harm to them. Specifically, the court had to assess the risk of psychological harm to the children from exposure to family violence and its impact on the mother, considering the father's behaviour and insight. The court also needed to consider the relationship between the children and their paternal grandparents and the appropriateness of supervised contact.

The court found that there was an unacceptable risk of psychological harm to the children due to exposure to family violence and its impact on the mother, exacerbated by the father's inability to regulate his behaviour and his lack of insight. The court determined that this risk could not be ameliorated by supervision. While acknowledging the children's close relationship with their paternal grandparents, the court found that their time together must be supervised to prevent the father from removing the children.

Consequently, the court ordered that the mother have sole parental responsibility and that the children live with her. The father was ordered to spend no time and have no regular communication with the children, save for sending cards and gifts to the maternal grandmother on special occasions. The paternal grandparents were permitted to spend time with the children monthly for up to six hours, supervised by an agreed professional supervisor or a designated contact centre, with the paternal grandparents to bear the costs. The court also issued various injunctions against both the father and the paternal grandparents to protect the mother and children.