Trickett and Giannopoulos

This matter concerned an application by Mr Trickett (the applicant father) against Ms Giannopoulos (the respondent mother) and Mr G (the second respondent) in the Family Court of Australia at Melbourne. The primary dispute involved the parenting arrangements for two children, S and J. The applicant father sought to vary existing orders concerning his time with his son, S, and also sought interim orders for J, his former partner's daughter, to spend time with him.

The court was required to determine the terms of interim parenting orders for S, including the specific schedule of time the child would spend with his father. A further legal issue was whether interim orders should be made for the applicant father to spend time with J, a child with whom he had limited contact in recent years, despite recommendations from a family report that such time occur. The court also considered the need for the respondent mother and Mr G to attend counselling or assistance programs.

Justice Dessau varied the existing orders regarding S, establishing a schedule for his time with the applicant father during school terms and holidays, and outlining the arrangements for collection and return of the child. The court also ordered the respondent mother and Mr G to attend agency assistance for parenting, anger management, domestic violence, and child discipline, with costs to be shared. Crucially, the court declined to make interim orders for the applicant father to spend time with J. The reasoning was that ordering such contact at this interim stage would pre-empt the substantive issues to be determined at trial, particularly given the significant dispute over their relationship and the potential for tension within J's household. The court emphasised the need to hear all evidence before making a determination on J's best interests regarding contact with the applicant father.