Vandale & Cino

The case of Vandale v Cino involved a dispute between the parties regarding the parenting arrangements for their child, X. The mother sought sole parental responsibility and for the child to live primarily with her, while the father sought equal shared parental responsibility. The Independent Children’s Lawyer supported the mother’s position in most respects, expressing concerns about the father’s ability to provide adequate care due to his work commitments and reliance on others. The court had to decide on the best interests of the child, considering factors such as the child's speech delay and developmental challenges, the history of conflict between the parties, the child's care by the paternal grandmother, and allegations of family violence.

The court found that the mother was the victim of physical violence by the father, who had also engaged in coercive and controlling conduct. The court was not satisfied that the father had been frank about his availability to care for the child and noted the father's history of misleading authorities about the mother's mental health. Despite the mother's past mental health challenges, a Single Expert Psychiatrist found that she had no diagnosable mental health condition. The court concluded that the mother had provided proactive care for the child and had more suitable accommodation and stable mental health. The father and his family had continued to disparage the mother in the proceedings.

The court granted the mother sole parental responsibility and ordered that the child live primarily with the mother, with the father spending three nights per fortnight with the child. The court also made detailed orders regarding time arrangements, communication, medical practice, international travel, dispute resolution, and costs. The court emphasised the need to protect the child from excessive conflict or violent behaviour and restrained the parties from discussing the proceedings with or in the presence of the child. The mother and father were required to use a Parenting App for non-urgent communication and to notify each other of any changes in contact details or address. The court also ordered that the parties attend family dispute resolution before seeking further orders from the court.