Sweeney and Carrigan and Anor

This matter concerned a parenting dispute before Judge Burchardt, representing the third tranche of litigation concerning the children. The children had been in the primary care of their father since 2012. The dispute involved the mother and the applicant maternal grandmother seeking time with the children. While the children expressed a desire to see their mother, they were still young, and the court was required to consider the weight to be given to their wishes.

The court was required to determine the appropriate parenting orders, specifically addressing the children's living arrangements and the extent of contact with their mother and grandmother. Key issues included assessing the mother's sobriety and her prospects of relapse, given her drug use until at least August 2018, and evaluating the grandmother's supervision of time with the children. The court also had to consider the children's best interests in light of these factors.

Judge Burchardt reasoned that the mother's sobriety could not be definitively assessed and that her chances of relapse were high, which weighed against granting her unsupervised time with the children. The court also found that the grandmother had failed to properly supervise her time with the children. Applying principles of child welfare and best interests, the court made orders consistent with the recommendations of the Independent Children’s Lawyer and the father.

The court ordered that the final orders made on 14 August 2017 be discharged. The father was granted sole parental responsibility for the children, and the children were ordered to live with the father. Communication with the applicant and second respondent was to occur by telephone each Wednesday between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm, with the father to initiate the call. The court noted the mother's indication of a preparedness to undertake drug testing and rehabilitation, making it open for her to apply for further time with the children without facing a *Rice v Asplund* objection if she pursued these steps.