Woodburn and Pitcher

In the matter of Woodburn and Pitcher, the applicants, Ms Woodburn and Mr Woodburn (the maternal grandparents), brought a contravention application against the respondent father, Mr Pitcher, alleging his failure to comply with existing orders for his daughter, X, to spend time with them. The Independent Children's Lawyer also participated in the proceedings.

The court was required to determine whether Mr Pitcher had contravened the orders for X to spend time with her maternal grandparents, and if so, whether he had a reasonable excuse for any contraventions. Additionally, the court needed to consider the best interests of X in making any orders regarding her time with her grandparents, taking into account her expressed wishes and the nature of her relationships with relevant parties.

The court accepted Mr Pitcher's plea admitting the contraventions alleged by the maternal grandparents, but found that he had a reasonable excuse for these contraventions. Consequently, the contravention application was otherwise dismissed. The court discharged previous orders for the maternal grandparents to spend time with X, and instead ordered that X would spend time and communicate with them in accordance with her wishes. Further orders permitted the maternal grandparents to attend X's school events and obtain school photographs of her, with the father to facilitate these requests to the degree necessary. The maternal grandparents were also permitted to telephone X once per school term, with a specific arrangement for agreement or a default date. The court also ordered that X attend upon a Family Consultant for the preparation of a Wishes Report, and the matter was adjourned pending the release of this report.