WALTERS & SNOW

In the matter of *Walters & Snow*, heard before Tree J, the dispute concerned parenting orders for two children, Y and M. The father, Mr Snow, sought orders for shared parental responsibility and time with the children, while the mother, Ms Walters, sought sole parental responsibility and that the children live with her, with no time spent with the father.

The central legal issue before the court was the determination of the children's best interests in circumstances where the father sought increased involvement and the mother sought to significantly restrict or eliminate the father's contact. This required the court to consider the relevant factors under the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth), including the children's right to have a meaningful relationship with both parents, and the need to protect the children from harm.

Tree J's reasoning focused on the paramountcy of the children's welfare and best interests. The court found that it was not in the children's best interests for the father to have any time with them, nor for him to have shared parental responsibility. Consequently, the court ordered that the mother have sole parental responsibility for the children, that they live with her, and that the father have no time with them. The court also made orders restraining the father from initiating communication with the children. The Independent Children's Lawyer was discharged upon the expiration of the appeal period or the determination of any appeal.