Witmore and Clements

This matter concerned the parental responsibility, living arrangements, and time arrangements for four children, [W], [X], [Y], and [Z], between their parents. The dispute was before Judge Willis.

The court was required to determine the extent of parental responsibility for long-term decisions concerning the children's welfare and development, including education, health, religious and cultural upbringing, name, significant changes to living arrangements, and extracurricular activities. The court also had to determine the children's primary living arrangements and the specific terms and conditions under which the father would spend time with the children, including supervised telephone contact.

Judge Willis ordered that the mother have sole parental responsibility for all long-term decisions regarding the children. The children were ordered to live with the mother. The father's time with the children was significantly restricted, to occur only on the first Sunday of each month between specific hours, with handovers at a designated contact centre at the father's expense. The father was also restrained from removing the children from the mother's care or denigrating her. Supervised telephone contact was to be implemented only after the mother secured a telephone supervision service, with the father bearing the costs and adhering to strict conditions regarding frequency, duration, and timing. A recovery order was to issue automatically if the father breached the terms of the orders, leading to the suspension of his time with the children. The parties were also ordered to use the Talking Parents website for communication, except as otherwise provided.