THORPE & THURSTON

In proceedings before Cleary J, the court considered an application concerning the parental responsibility and living arrangements for a child. The dispute involved the father, who had been diagnosed with a personality disorder and had a history of controlling behaviour, including an incident where he deliberately dropped the child in anger. The father also had suicidal thoughts and had been convicted of assault following previous family law proceedings. The mother suffered from a mental illness, which was exacerbated by the father's conduct. She had separated from the father and was receiving appropriate therapy and counselling.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility should be rebutted, and with whom the child should live. The court was required to determine the appropriate allocation of parental responsibility and the child's living arrangements, taking into account the risks posed by the father and the mother's capacity to care for the child.

Cleary J found that the father posed a risk of harm to the child, and that his behaviour and conduct aggravated the mother's mental illness. The Department of Human Services supported the allocation of sole parental responsibility to the mother. Applying the principles of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), the court determined that the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility was rebutted due to the father's behaviour and the risk of harm. Consequently, the court made orders allocating sole parental responsibility to the mother and ordering that the child live with the mother. The father was ordered to spend no time with the child, with limited provisions for communication and the exchange of gifts through the Department of Human Services.