Thayer & Caville

This case involved a dispute between the father and the mother concerning final parenting orders for their three children. The mother was an inpatient at a psychiatric facility at the time of trial. The second and third respondents, the maternal aunt and maternal great-grandmother respectively, were also involved in the proceedings. The parties had reached an in-principle agreement for an existing weekabout arrangement to continue, with the issues narrowing to the specificity of the arrangement from 2017, the surname of the children, and the time to be spent with the mother.

The court was required to determine whether restrictions should be placed on the time the children spent with the mother and certain members of the maternal family, while also considering the best interests of the children and their right to enjoy their Aboriginal culture. The court also had to address the issue of the children's surname and the arrangements for their day-to-day care and parental responsibility.

Stevenson J applied the paramount consideration of the best interests of the children. The court ordered that the children's surname be hyphenated to Caville-Thayer, reflecting a connection to both families. Equal shared parental responsibility was ordered between the father and the maternal parents (the maternal aunt and great-grandmother), with the father having sole responsibility for day-to-day care when the children were with him, and the maternal parents having sole responsibility when the children were with them or the mother. Time spent with the mother was to be as agreed between her and the maternal parents, provided she was deemed free of alcohol and drug influence and in stable mental health, with all such time to be monitored by the maternal parents. The court also made detailed orders regarding the children's living arrangements, school, and time spent with each party, including specific provisions for cultural engagement and parental communication.