TAYBOR & ANDERSON

This matter concerned an application by Ms Anderson ("the mother") to revisit final parenting Orders made on 4 September 2009, which granted Mr Taybor ("the father") sole parental responsibility for the child, E. The mother sought orders for equal shared parental responsibility, that E live with her, and spend time with the father five days each fortnight. The father opposed the application, seeking its dismissal and indemnity costs. The central question before Hannam J was whether there had been a sufficient change in circumstances to warrant reopening the proceedings and varying the existing orders in the child's best interests.

The court was required to determine whether the mother had demonstrated a sufficient change in circumstances since the final parenting Orders were made in 2009 to justify revisiting those orders. This involved assessing whether any proposed changes to the parenting arrangements would be in E's best interests, considering the history of the proceedings, the findings of the court in 2009, and any subsequent developments. The court also had to consider the father's opposition to the application and his request for indemnity costs.

Hannam J's reasoning focused on the principles established in the 2009 judgment by Collier J, which had placed considerable weight on the evidence of Dr Q, an expert who assessed the child and parents. Collier J had found that the mother had a poor relationship with the child, sought to alienate E from the father, and had made unfounded allegations of sexual abuse against him. Dr Q's assessment indicated that the mother had a personality disorder with histrionic and narcissistic features, which significantly impacted her parenting capacity and her ability to foster a healthy relationship between E and the father. Collier J concluded that it was not in E's best interests to have equal shared parental responsibility due to the lack of trust and the mother's demonstrated unwillingness to facilitate a relationship with the father. Hannam J found no sufficient change in circumstances to alter these conclusions.

The application to revisit the parenting orders was dismissed. The court ordered that the mother pay the father's costs on an indemnity basis.