TIMMINS & ZADRIMA

In the Family Court of Australia, Austin J heard proceedings between a mother and a father concerning their child. The mother sought an adjournment of the trial for six months, having been a sporadic participant in the proceedings and not making reasonable attempts to be ready for trial. The father sought orders regarding the child's residence and future interaction with the mother.

The court was required to determine whether to grant the mother's adjournment request, considering the child's best interests and the timely and affordable determination of the litigation. Additionally, the court had to decide on parenting orders, specifically with whom the child should live and spend time, and whether to grant the father sole parental responsibility. This involved assessing the child's relationship with each parent, the mother's parenting capacity, and the child's expressed views, particularly in light of a developmental disability.

Austin J refused the adjournment, finding it would not serve the child's best interests, nor allow for timely and affordable resolution, and would expose the father to significant costs. The court found that the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility was rebutted, and the mother had conceded parental responsibility to the father. Applying the factors under section 60CC of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), the court noted the child had rarely spent time with the mother in the preceding 18 months, and each occasion had resulted in an adverse reaction in the child. The child's expressed views were given no weight due to her vulnerability to manipulation. The evidence reflected poorly on the mother's parenting capacity.

Consequently, the court ordered that the child live with the father and that the father have sole parental responsibility. No prescriptive orders were made requiring the child to spend time or communicate with the mother, leaving any such interaction to the father's discretion as an incident of his sole parental responsibility. The mother was restrained from approaching the father's residence, the child's school, or extracurricular venues, and from initiating contact with the child by various electronic means.