ZONG & LIM

In the matter of ZONG & LIM, Judge Tonkin of the Family Court of Australia considered an application for interim parenting orders concerning a seven-year-old child. The mother sought orders for sole parental responsibility and for the child to spend supervised time with the father. These applications were made in the context of concerns raised by a family consultant regarding the father's alleged significant and sustained coercive and controlling behaviour towards the mother in the child's presence.

The court was required to determine whether the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility applied, given the allegations of family violence. It also needed to assess the risk posed by the father's conduct to the child and the mother, and to make interim orders that would safeguard the child's welfare.

Judge Tonkin found that the father had engaged in coercive, controlling, harassing, and intimidating conduct towards the mother over a sustained period. Consequently, the court determined that a cautious approach was warranted and that the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility did not apply. The father was ordered to have no time or communication with the child, and the mother was granted sole parental responsibility, with specific exceptions for advising the father of proposed changes to schooling and any health issues. The father was also ordered to consult with a clinical psychologist at his own expense to assess the risk of further family violence.