Vale & Vale & Anor

In the matter of Vale & Vale & Anor, Hogan J of the Family Court of Australia made final orders concerning the parenting arrangements for two children, B and C. The dispute involved the parents' arrangements for their children, with the court ultimately determining the living arrangements, parental responsibility, and the nature and extent of contact between the children and their mother.

The court was required to determine the primary residence of the children, who would hold parental responsibility for long-term decisions, and the specific terms of supervised time the mother would have with the children. Additionally, the court considered the need for injunctions to restrain certain behaviours of both parents and the placement of one child on the Family Law Watchlist. The court also addressed the communication of the orders to the children and the discharge of the Independent Children's Lawyer.

Hogan J ordered that the children live with the father and that the father have sole parental responsibility for major long-term issues. The mother was granted supervised time with the children, initially for a period of four months with a Family Consultant, and thereafter at a contact centre nominated by the father. The court also issued injunctions restraining both parents from denigrating each other to the children and from disseminating information about the proceedings. The name of child C was placed on the Family Law Watchlist for two years. The court further ordered that the terms of the orders be explained to the children by a Family Consultant.