Vanetti & Harrison (No 2)

This case concerns final parenting and property proceedings following the breakdown of the parents’ marriage. The children, X (9 years old) and Y (6 years old), have special needs. The parents agree that the children will primarily live with the father but dispute the mother’s time with the children. The father seeks sole parental responsibility, while the mother seeks equal shared parental responsibility. The court found that the parents could not cooperate in parenting and granted the father sole parental responsibility for major long-term decisions about health and education. The court made detailed orders regarding the children’s time with each parent, their education, and medical treatment. The court also made orders regarding the parents’ communication and the children’s travel to the mother’s country of origin. The financial aspect of the case was limited to the father’s superannuation interest, and the court made a splitting order for a base amount of $20,000. The court declined to make an order for parenting coordination, finding that the parents had not demonstrated the capacity to co-parent effectively.