Tatim & Belden

This matter concerned an application by the father for orders regarding the children S and H, born in 1997 and 2000 respectively. The dispute centred on the living arrangements for the children, the allocation of parental responsibility, and the specific terms of the father's time with the children. The court was required to make orders concerning these issues, balancing the best interests of the children with the rights and responsibilities of both parents.

The court was tasked with determining the primary residence of the children, the extent of shared parental responsibility for long-term decisions, and the specific arrangements for the children to spend time with the father. This included defining the duration and timing of school holiday contact, as well as provisions for contact when the father was visiting Queensland. Furthermore, the court had to consider and impose specific conditions on both parents regarding substance use and communication with each other and the children, as well as prohibitions against denigration.

In its reasoning, the court made orders that the children live with the mother and that both parents have equal shared parental responsibility for long-term issues. The father was granted specific periods of time with the children during school holidays, with detailed provisions regarding the duration, return dates, and overnight stays with relatives. Crucially, the court imposed strict conditions on the father, restraining him from consuming alcohol or illicit substances during periods of care and for six hours prior, and similarly restrained the mother from consuming codeine or illicit substances while the children were in her care. The court also ordered liberal communication between the children and both parents and prohibited denigration of either parent. The court also included a fact sheet detailing the obligations and consequences of contravention of the orders, pursuant to sections 65DA(2) and 62B of the *Family Law Act*.