Worth and Worth

In the matter of *Worth and Worth*, Tree J of the Family Court of Australia considered orders concerning the time a father would spend with his child. The dispute centred on the conditions and supervision arrangements for contact between the father and the child.

The court was required to determine the terms upon which supervised contact between the father and the child should occur, including the duration, frequency, location, and the conditions precedent to such contact commencing. A key issue was the role and discretion of a supervising psychologist in assessing the safety of contact.

Tree J ordered that, until further order, the father would spend time with the child for a period of two hours, supervised by a registered psychologist, Ms B. This supervised time was to occur at Ms B's offices unless she directed otherwise, and was conditional upon Ms B determining that there was no unacceptable risk of physical, emotional, or psychological harm to the child. Ms B was requested to use her best endeavours to supervise contact on alternate Saturdays or at least twice per calendar month, and any supervised time was to be reportable. The Independent Children's Lawyer was granted liberty to provide expert reports to Ms B.