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Cresswell & Conroy [2017] FCCA 912 (9 May 2017)
Federal Circuit Court of Australia
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Cresswell & Conroy [2017] FCCA 912 (9 May 2017)
Last Updated: 12 May 2017
FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA
Catchwords: FAMILY LAW – Interim
Parenting – three year old child – limited time with father since
separation – father
is a (occupation omitted) and has a moving roster
– what time child should spend with father.
|
Hearing date:
|
31 March 2017
|
Date of Last Submission:
|
31 March 2017
|
REPRESENTATION
Appearing for the
Applicant:
|
Ms Smythe
|
Solicitors for the Applicant:
|
Armstrong Legal
|
Counsel for the Respondent:
|
Ms Breeze
|
Solicitors for the Respondent:
|
Fife Legal
|
PENDING FURTHER ORDER:
(1) That X born (omitted) 2014 shall live with the mother.
(2) That X shall spend time with the father as follows:
- (a) Until 1
July 2017, on each of the father’s rostered days off from 10am to
4pm;
- (b) Thereafter
and until 1 September 2017 on each of the father’s rostered days off from
9am to 5pm;
- (c) Thereafter
on each of the father’s rostered days off from 9am to 5pm, except that the
time shall be extended to commence
at 9am and conclude at 5pm on the following
day:
- (i) On the
first weekend every month the father has two consecutive rostered days off; and
- (ii) On any one
other occasion when the father has two consecutive days off per month.
- (d) During
periods when the father is on annual leave:
- (i) From 9am on
28 November 2017 to 6pm on 1 December 2017; and
- (ii) From 9am
on 15 January 2018 to 6pm on 21 January
2018.
A reference to the father’s
rostered day off is a reference to the rostered days off allocated to the father
in the father’s
employer’s monthly rostered (occupation omitted)
schedule.
(3) That for the purposes of sub-paragraphs (2)(a) and (2)(b) above, the father
shall provide to the mother notice of his rostered
days off within 48 hours of
the father receiving notification of his monthly roster. It is sufficient
compliance with this Order
for the father to provide to the mother a list of
dates and days on which the dates fall on.
(4) That for the purpose of sub-paragraph (2)(b), the father shall nominate the
period referred to in (2)(b)(ii) at the same time
as notifying the mother of his
rostered days off in accordance with paragraph (3) above.
(5) That changeover shall occur at (omitted) McDonalds’s.
(6) Notwithstanding any other order, the child shall spend time with the mother
on Christmas Day from 9am to 2pm.
(7) Notwithstanding any other order, the child shall spend time with the father
on Christmas Day from 3pm to 8pm, provided the father
is not working on that
day.
THE COURT FURTHER ORDERS THAT:
(8) Pursuant to section 62G(2) of the Family Law Act 1975 the
parties and the children of the relationship attend upon a family consultant
nominated by the Dispute Resolution Coordinator
of the Federal Circuit Court of
Australia on a date and at time/s to be advised for the purposes of the
preparation of a family report.
(9) The Family Report to deal with the following matters:
- (a) Any views
expressed by the child the subject of parenting orders sought in this case,
provided that the child shall not be required
to express a view in relation to
any matter.
- (b) The nature
of the relationships of the child with each of the child’s parents and
with significant other persons.
- (c) The
willingness and ability of each of the child’s parents to facilitate and
encourage a close and continuing relationship
between the child and the other
parent.
- (d) The likely
effect of any changes in the child’s circumstances, including the likely
effect on the child of any separation
from:
- (i) either of
the parents: or
- (ii) any other
child, or significant person, with whom the child has been
living.
- (e) The
practical difficulty and expense of the child spending time with and
communicating with a parent and whether that difficulty
or expense will
substantially affect the child’s right to maintain personal relations and
direct contact with both parents
on a regular basis.
- (f) The
capacity of each parent, or another person, to provide for the needs of the
child, including emotional and intellectual needs.
- (g) The
maturity, sex, lifestyle and background (including lifestyle, culture and
traditions) other children and of either of the
child’s parents and any
other characteristics of the child that the reporter thinks are relevant.
- (h) Each
parent’s attitude to the child and to the responsibilities of
parenthood.
- (i) Any family
violence involving the child or a member of the child’s family.
- (j) Such other
issues as the Family Consultant considers relevant.
(10) The parties shall attend all appointments with the Family Consultant and
shall ensure the subject child attend all appointments
with the Family
Consultant, as requested by the Family Consultant
(11) The Family Consultant may inspect the Court file.
(12) Upon the report being provided to the Court, the Court will provide a copy
to each party (or if represented the party’s
lawyer) and to any
Independent Children’s Lawyer in the proceedings.
(13) Unless a party objects, in writing, within 14 days of the date of releasing
the Report, copies of the Report may further be
provided to the following, if
the Court is requested to do so for a purpose related to the care, welfare or
development of the child
to whom these proceedings relate:
- (a) A
Children’s Court;
- (b) A child
protection authority;
- (c) A State or
Territory Legal Aid Authority; and
- (d) A convener
of any legal dispute resolution conference.
(14) Unless otherwise ordered, no person shall release the Report, or provide
access to the Report to any other person.
(15) The matter is to be listed on a date to be advised following the release of
the Family Report.
IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment under the pseudonym
Cresswell & Conroy is approved pursuant to s.121(9)(g) of the
Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).
FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT
PARRAMATTA
|
PAC 4677 of
2016
Applicant
And
Respondent
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
Introduction
- These
are the Reasons for Judgment in relation to interim parenting proceedings
concerning X born (omitted) 2014.
- The
parties to the proceedings are the Applicant mother Ms Cresswell and the
Respondent father Mr Conroy.
- The
proceedings were commenced by way of Initiating Application filed by the
Applicant on 4 October 2016.
- On
29 November 2016 the Court made Orders on a without admissions basis by consent
as follows:
- 1. The
child X spend time with the father on the following dates:
- a. On
Wednesday 30.11.16 from 1pm to 3pm
- b. On
Saturday 10.12.16 from 10am to 12pm
- c.
Thereafter twice weekly on the days on which the father is rostered off for a
period of two hours as agreed between the parties
and failing agreement from
10am to 12pm
- d. The
first 8 visits shall be supervised without admissions by the father by Ms O.
- 2. The
father will notify the mother of his rostered days off forthwith after receiving
them noting that the father has 2 rostered
days off per week and the mother will
ensure that X is available on the rostered days off.
- 3. Both
parties will forthwith enrol in and complete at the first available opportunity
a Post Separation Parenting Course and produce
evidence of the same.
- 4. For the
purposes of changeover the supervisor will effect changeover for the first 8
visits and thereafter the father’s
nominee will effect changeover,
together with the father.
- Noting that
the mother has requested that the father’s nominee not be the paternal
grandfather and noting that should the father
have more than 2 rostered days off
in any week, the mother nominates the 2 rostered days.
- The
Court further ordered the parties to attend a Child Dispute Conference on 16
March 2017 and listed the matter for Interim Hearing
on 31 March 2017.
- The
parties attended the Child Dispute Conference on 16 March 2017 as ordered by the
Court with a memorandum being prepared by Family
Consultant Ms F dated 22 March
2017.
Competing Proposals
- The
interim orders sought by the Applicant are contained in the Minute of Order
dated 31 March 2017 being:
- 1. That the
child X (“the child”) live with the mother.
- 2. That
from 10 April 2017 the child shall spend time with his father for 3 hours on
Wednesday each week and each alternate Sunday
from 10am till 1pm.
- 3. That
from 10 August 2017, the child shall spend time with his father from 10am till
4pm on Wednesday in each week and each alternate
Sunday.
- 4. That
from 10 December 2017, the child shall spend time with his father each Wednesday
and each alternate Saturday and Sunday from
10am till 4pm.
- 5. That
from the child commencing school, he spend time with his father each Wednesday
evening each week and each alternate weekend
from 10am Saturday till 4pm on
Sunday.
- 6. Pending
10 April 2017, the child spend time his (sic) father from 10am to 12pm on the
following dates:
- 6.1 Sunday
2 April 2017; and
- 6.2 Sunday
9 April 2017.
- 7. That in
order to implement time according to these orders,
- 7.1 The
parties shall meet at (omitted) McDonalds’s.
- 7.2 The
father shall provide to the mother his roster issued by (employer omitted)
within 48 hours of receipt; and
- 8. That
notwithstanding any other order, the child shall spend:
- 8.1 From
10am to 4pm with the mother on Mother’s Day
- 8.2 From
10am to 4pm with the father on Father’s Day; and
- 8.3 From
10am to 2pm with the father on Christmas Day.
- The
interim orders sought by the Respondent are contained in the Case Outline
document dated 31 March 2017 being inter alia:
- 1. That the
child X born (omitted) 2014 (“X”) live with the mother.
- 2. That X
spend time with the father as follows:
- a.
Commencing from the date of these Orders until 7 September 2017 for two days per
week between the hours of 9am and 5pm those days
being the days that are in
accordance with the rostered days off allocated in the father’s monthly
rostered (occupation omitted)
schedule;
- b. From 7
September 2017 to 7 April 2018 for two days per week and one night per week
between the hours of 9am and 6pm on the day
in which an overnight time period is
not to occur and between 9am and 9am the following morning on the day in which
an overnight
time period is to occur those days and night to occur on the
rostered days off allocated in the father’s monthly rostered (occupation
omitted) schedule and the overnight time if not otherwise agreed between the
parties is to occur on the night of the second rostered
day of each week on
which the father spends time with X.
- c. From 7
April 2018 until the February of the year in which X commences kindergarten for
two nights per week being from 9am on the
morning of the first night until 9am
the following morning those days and nights to occur on the roster days off
allocated in the
father’s monthly rostered (occupation omitted) schedule.
- d. The time
in orders 2(a) to (c) above shall occur notwithstanding that the time may fall
on a day when X is otherwise enrolled
in day care or pre-school.
- e. From the
first day of February of the year in which X commences school during school
terms as follows:
- i. every
alternate weekend from after school or 3pm on Friday until before school or 9am
on Monday or Tuesday if Monday is a public
holiday;
- ii. every
Wednesday from after school or 3pm until before school or 9am on Friday.
- f. From the
February of the year in which X commences school during the NSW gazetted school
holiday periods for a period equal to
half the school holidays in a consecutive
block being the first half of the school holidays in even numbered years and the
second
half in odd numbered years.
- The
Respondent also sought orders for time with the child on special occasions and
school holiday time according to his rostered days
off.
Documents Relied Upon at Interim Hearing
- The
Applicant relied upon the following documents:
- Reply
filed 28 November 2016;
- Affidavit
of Ms Cresswell affirmed and filed 28 November 2016;
- Affidavit
of Ms Cresswell affirmed 28 September 2016 and filed 25 October
2016;
- Affidavit
of Ms Cresswell affirmed and filed 31 March 2017; and
- Minute
of Orders dated 31 March 2017.
- The
Respondent relied upon the following documents:
- Amended
Response filed 30 March 2017;
- Affidavit
of Mr Conroy sworn 29 March 2017;
- Affidavit
of Mr Conroy sworn and filed 15 November 2016;
- Affidavit
of Ms T sworn and filed 15 November 2016; and
- Case
outline document dated 31 March 2017.
- The
Respondent tendered a pathology report dated 28 March 2017 which became Exhibit
‘1’ in the proceedings.
- The
Court also had regard to the Child Dispute Conference Memorandum dated 22 March
2017.
The Law
- The
central enquiry is for the Court to determine the outcome that will be best for
the child the subject of these proceedings.
- Parenting
proceedings are governed by the provisions of Part VII of the Family Law Act
1975. Section 60CA provides that in deciding whether to make a particular
parenting order, the Court is to regard the best interests of the child as
the
paramount consideration.
- Section
60B of the Act outlines the objects and principles underlying Part VII of the
Act.
- In
determining what is in a child’s best interests, the Court must consider
the matters set out in s60CC. Section 60CC outlines the primary and additional
considerations that the Court is to take into account in determining what is in
the best interests
of the child.
- The
Act does not mandate the discussion of considerations under s60CC in any
particular order, and it is well recognised that additional
considerations may
outweigh primary
considerations.[1]
- In
applying the primary considerations, the Court must give greater weight to the
need to protect the child from physical or psychological
harm, from being
subjected to, or exposed to, abuse, neglect or family violence than to the
benefit to the child of having a meaningful
relationship with both of the
parents.
- It
has been held that a meaningful relationship “is one which is
important, significant and valuable to the
child.”[2] The focus is not
on the relationship as such, but on the benefit the relationship might have for
the child.[3]
- In
addition, in considering what order to make, the Court must, to the extent that
it is possible to do so consistently with the child’s
best interest being
the paramount consideration, ensure that the order does not expose a person to
an unacceptable risk of family
violence.[4] The Court may
include[5] in the order any safeguards
that it considers necessary for the safety of those affected by the order.
- Section
61DA of the Act provides that when making a parenting order, the Court must
apply a presumption that it is in the best interests
of the child for the
child’s parents to have equal shared parental responsibility. The
presumption does not apply where there
are reasonable grounds to believe a
parent has engaged in abuse of the child or family violence and the presumption
may be rebutted
if the Court is satisfied that an order for equal shared
parental responsibility would not be in the child’s best interests.
In
interim proceedings, the presumption applies unless the Court considers that it
would not be appropriate in the circumstances
for the presumption to be applied
when making an interim order.[6]
- In
the event that the Court orders the parents to have equal shared parental
responsibility, the Court must apply the provisions of
section 65DAA which
provides for a consideration of the child spending equal time with the parents.
If the Court finds that it is
not in the child’s best interests and
reasonably practicable, then the Court must consider the child spending
substantial and
significant time with the parents. Section 65DAA is expressed in
imperative terms.[7]
- The
Full Court in Goode v Goode[8]
mandated that this legislative approach must be followed in all parenting cases,
and in particular set out the procedural steps to
be followed on an interim
application, noting that in interim proceedings there may be little uncontested
evidence to enable more
than a limited consideration of these matters to take
place.
- As
stated by the Full Court in Keats & Keats, in respect of the conduct
of interim
proceedings:[9]
- ...the
principles that emerge from cases such as SS v AH [2010] FamCAFC 13, [are]
namely, that apart from relying upon the uncontroversial or agreed facts, a
judge may have little alternative than to weigh
the probabilities of competing
claims and the likely impact on children in the event that a controversial
assertion is acted upon
or rejected.
Issues in Dispute
- The
issue in dispute is the time that the child is to spend with the father.
- The
crux of this matter is in fact quite simple.
- The
father works as a (occupation omitted). He has eight rostered days off per
month. The father is provided with his work roster
at least a month in advance.
That roster is a moving roster and the father is assigned what days he is to
work and what days he is
to have off by his employer. The only certainty the
father has in relation to his roster is that he will have not less than two
rostered
days off per week and that one of those 2 day periods will occur on a
weekend consecutively. The other rostered days off may or may
not be consecutive
and can fall on any day of the week. The father proposes that the child spend
time with him on his rostered days
off.
- The
mother is opposed to the child’s routine in terms of spending time with
the father being determined by the father’s
work roster. Rather, she
proposes set weekly times for the child to spend time with the father and if
those times don’t happen
to coincide with the father’s rostered days
off, then, the child misses out on spending time with the father.
- The
duration of the time the child is to spend with the father (on the days he is to
see him) is also in dispute between the parties.
Uncontested Relevant Facts
- The
Applicant was born on (omitted) 1985 and is currently 31 years of age. She works
part time as a (occupation omitted) and resides
in (omitted), New South Wales.
- The
Respondent was born on (omitted) 1985 and is currently 31 years of age. He works
full time as a (occupation omitted) on a moving
roster and resides in (omitted),
New South Wales.
- The
parties commenced a relationship in 2003.
- There
is one child of the relationship, X born on (omitted) 2014 who resides with the
Applicant.
- The
parties separated in mid-late 2015.
- From
September 2015 until orders were made on 29 November 2016, the child had not
spent any time with the father.
- Since
orders were made by consent on 29 November 2016, the child commenced spending
time with the father; initially such time was
supervised for eight occasions and
then progressed to unsupervised time.
Relevant Considerations
- The
protection of the child from harm is an important matter for the Court’s
consideration when weighing up the primary considerations.
Indeed, the Court
must prioritise the need to protect the child from harm as against the benefit
of the child having a meaningful
relationship with the parents.
- An
Apprehended Domestic Violence Order was made for the protection of the mother
with the father named as the defendant on 21 January
2016. It is an order made
by consent and without admission. The order was for a period of 12 months and is
now expired. The allegations
which gave rise to the making of the order relate
to events around the time of separation.
- The
Applicant asserts that the Respondent was ‘abusive and
controlling’ towards her by threatening to reduce financial support
and denigrated her by calling her names such as “lazy, unfit, slut,
unmotivated, cunt and boring”. She asserts that he kicked her in the
leg on one occasion resulting in bruising. Indeed, the mother submitted that the
relationship
was one of family violence. The father denies such allegations.
- The
Respondent describes a number of incidents where he alleges the mother was
physically violent towards him, including hitting him
in the side of the face
causing his skin to be broken and hitting him on the head following an argument.
These allegations are denied
by the Applicant.
- In
summary, both parents make allegations of aggressive and violent behaviour by
the other parent towards them. There is significant
factual dispute about these
matters, however, even at their highest the behaviour as alleged by each of the
parents appears to have
been situational. Given that the parties have been
separated for over 18 months, and that the allegations relate to times when the
parties were in the relationship, it is the Court’s view that there is any
risk of harm to the child if such controversial
facts are acted upon, is
minimal.
- The
mother also makes allegations that the father abuses both alcohol and illicit
substances. The father denies such allegations.
He points to the fact that he is
a (occupation omitted) who is subjected by his employer to random tests for
alcohol consumption,
and that all such tests have returned negative. Upon
becoming aware of the mother’s allegation recorded in the Child Dispute
Conference Memorandum that he uses ‘ice’, the father has
voluntarily undertaken a chain of custody drug screen. That was done on 28 March
2017 with the memorandum being released
to the parties after 22 March 2017 and
the father saying he only read it on 27 March 2017.
- The
mother does not submit that there is an unacceptable risk of harm to the child
as a result of these matters she alleges relating
to the use of alcohol and
illicit substances by the father.
- After
separation the child did not spend any time with the father for over 12 months.
The reasons for this are varied, but certainly,
such outcome was not in the
child’s best interest.
- When
time resumed, albeit on a supervised basis, the child responded very positively
to seeing his father and in his interactions
with the father. This much is clear
from the notes of the supervisor which are in evidence. It also appears from
those notes that
the mother was not entirely encouraging of the child’s
interaction with the father. Some of those notes indicate as follows:
- For
30 November 2016 being the first such supervised
visit:
Ms Cresswell expressed that she was concerned
about how X would react to Mr Conroy and said that X did not understand the
concept
of “Dad” as he had never had one before.
X was shy and unsure of what was going on at the beginning of the visit
but relaxed after around five minutes, after which he did
not show any signs of
distress or unease. X appeared confident to tell Mr Conroy what he wanted and
also chatted happily to Mr Conroy
throughout the visit about a variety of
subjects, mostly in the context of what they were doing at the time...
- For
10 December 2016:
X and did not display any signs of distress or
unease at any time during this visit. He was happy and affectionate towards Mr
Conroy
throughout and called him “Dad” each time he talked to him. X
appeared comfortable interacting with Mr Conroy and also
telling him what he
wanted. X was physically affectionate towards Mr Conroy... X held Mr Conroy hand
while they were walking and
chatted to him throughout the visit...
When told it was time to leave, X said “No. I want to stay
here.”... When Ms Cresswell got out of the car and approached
X, X backed
away and repeated that he didn’t want to leave...
- For
13 December 2016:
X... ran to greet Mr Conroy...
X was very focused on Mr Conroy and was clearly enjoying his company,
paying little attention to the supervisor... X was affectionate
towards Mr
Conroy and frequently put his arms up to Mr Conroy to be picked up. When sitting
down, X sat either on Mr Conroy or very
close to him.
When the supervisor told X that his mother had arrived and it was time to
go, X became distressed... X was crying and trying to wriggle
out of the
supervisor’s arms and saying “I want my dad.”
- For
20 December 2016:
X was visibly excited to see Mr Conroy and
smiled and hugged him...
X was advised that mummy was here and that it was time to leave. X was
reluctant to leave but when Mr Conroy told him he could take
his truck and show
mummy he was okay and left willingly with the supervisor. Mr Conroy and X had a
hug goodbye and X pushed his truck
outside across the crossing to Ms Cresswell
where he greeted her happily, showing her his new truck and talking about
it.
- For
31 December 2016:
After discussion with Ms Cresswell, it was
agreed that the visit would take place at Mr Conroy’ house...
X let go of [the supervisor’s hand]... and ran to greet Mr Conroy.
Mr Conroy picked X up and hugged and kissed him. X reciprocated
and appeared
happy to see Mr Conroy.
X appeared happy and comfortable in Mr Conroy’s company and did not
pay any attention to the supervisor. X did not display any
signs of unease and
was curious about the new surroundings, wanting to explore and see what was
behind all the doors and up the stairs...
Mr Conroy was engaged with X
throughout the visit and the two talked and played together for the entire two
hours.
...
Ms Cresswell indicated after an earlier visit that X had been unwell and
that she suspected it was caused by something Mr Conroy had
given him to eat and
drink...
- For 8
January 2017:
After greeting X and Ms Cresswell, I told Ms
Cresswell that Mr Conroy intended to take X to his house today... Ms Cresswell
immediately
said “That’s not an option.” I explained to Ms
Cresswell that Mr Conroy had pointed out that there are no restrictions
in the
orders regarding where he takes X and that he felt X would enjoy himself at his
house, more so than at the park in the hot
weather or at another venue. Ms
Cresswell did not provide any explanation for her objection to Mr Conroy’s
plans, only repeating
“that is not an option” several times. Ms
Cresswell went on to say that there were several places Mr Conroy could take
X -
the (omitted), the park, the mall but that he would not be taking him to his
house. I asked Ms Cresswell if she was going to
refuse to hand X over for the
visits if Mr Conroy did not reconsider and she said yes, X would not be going on
the visit if it was
going to be at Mr Conroy’ house - again not providing
any other explanation.
...
After talking for a while longer, Mr Conroy decided that he would relent
and take X elsewhere for the visit as he didn’t want
to disappoint X who
was expecting to see him.
...
X smiled and reached for Mr Conroy as I handed him over and immediately
began talking to Mr Conroy...
- For
13 January 2017:
Ms Cresswell got X out of the car and gave me a
bag of toys which she said had been accumulated over the course of the visits.
Ms
Cresswell said that X had enough toys at home and that these toys could go
back to Mr Conroy...
...
X appeared surprised when first his grandmother and then later his aunty
and cousins arrived at the visit. He did not appear at all
uncomfortable and
after his initial surprise, interacted happily with the other children and
adults, engaging in games and chatting
to them. X particularly enjoyed blowing
and chasing bubbles and the other children joined in the game, chasing and
trying to burst
the bubbles...
...X chatted continuously to Mr Conroy and his cousins while they were
playing and did not show any signs of distress until it was
time to leave. X
appeared to enjoy the visit and the company of the other family members and did
not appear shy or uncomfortable
at any time. Mr Conroy was involved and engaged
with all of the children throughout and other children interacted easily with
both
Mr Conroy and X...
...
Mr Conroy checked the time and told X that it was time to go. X said
“No!” and continued playing. Mr Conroy picked X up
and told him to
say goodbye to everyone and walked over to the car with him. X became upset and
started to cry and resisted being
put into his car seat. Mr Conroy stood next to
the car with X and tried to explain to him that it was time to go but that he
could
come back soon and see the kids. X continued to cry and became more
distressed and more resistant to getting into the car. Mr Conroy’s
sister
suggested that Mr Conroy take one of the children with him... Once X saw that B
was in the car, he got in willingly and stopped
crying.
...
I took B with me when I took X out to Ms Cresswell. X became upset again
and said that he didn’t want to go and cried loudly
as I carried him to
where Ms Cresswell was parked. Ms Cresswell asked what was wrong and I explained
that X hadn’t wanted to
leave the visit yet and that B had come with us to
try to cheer X up. Ms Cresswell looked at B but didn’t acknowledge him or
comment. X continued to cry as Ms Cresswell took him and said “I want my
dad”. Ms Cresswell said “You will see
your dad again soon”. Ms
Cresswell then asked about the truck and I said that it had stayed at Mr
Conroy’s house as I
had thought she wanted the toys to stay there. Ms
Cresswell said that she wanted the other toys she had handed over at the
beginning
of the visit to stay with Mr Conroy but that the truck was supposed to
come back. I said that I would ask Mr Conroy to ensure it
went back at the next
visit.
- For
21 January 2017 (the last of the eight scheduled supervised
visits):
... X did not appear uncomfortable around other family
members and engaged in conversations with them but was interested mostly in
engaging with Mr Conroy. Mr Conroy stayed with X throughout the visit except
when he went inside to get X food and asked his mother
to watch X while he was
gone. X continued with what he was doing at the time and did not appear to
notice Mr Conroy’s absence
which was very brief.
...
When Ms Cresswell arrived and I told X it was time to go he
resisted...
...
Ms Cresswell asked if X had been “bombarded with people again”
during the visit. I told her who had been present and that
X had appeared
comfortable around the other family members but had been interested mostly in
playing with Mr Conroy. Ms Cresswell
said “what on earth happened at the
last visit?” and then went on to say that X had been hysterical for 20
minutes after
she had picked him up from the visit and had then been very quiet
during the afternoon but had made statements about Mr Conroy, saying
“My
dad is scary” “My dad hits my head” and “My dad is
mean”. I told Ms Cresswell that there
had been no indication that any of
the visits that X finds Mr Conroy scary and commented that X appears comfortable
around Mr Conroy
- enough so that he actually is quite bossy towards Mr Conroy.
Ms Cresswell commented that X gets his bossiness from Mr Conroy and
repeated
that X had been very unsettled following the previous visit. I told Ms Cresswell
that if we had seen any behaviour from
either Mr Conroy which indicated that X
was uncomfortable, she would have been advised at the time. I reiterated to Ms
Cresswell
that all of the interactions during supervised contact had been
positive and that we had not found it necessary to intervene during
the visits
with regard to the interactions between Mr Conroy and X.
- The
mother’s evidence is that the child is adjusting to his spending time with
the father. For example, the mother says that
on 13 January 2017 the child was
hysterically crying and cried all the way home and for a further 10 to 15
minutes. Given that the
child spent (on the supervisor’s account) a happy
two hours with the paternal family and did not want to leave, it is not
surprising
that he was unsettled on the way home and for a while after he
arrived home.
- The
child is now spending time with the father which is not supervised. There have
clearly been difficulties with that time being
facilitated, and it appears at
first blush that the father is not the cause of those difficulties. In any
event, these are matters
upon which findings may ultimately be made, but at this
point in time the Court simply notes that time has not occurred in accordance
with the Orders made on 29 November 2016. The child has spent less time with the
father than the Orders provide for.
- The
child is still very young, having only recently turned three years old. There is
no evidence that he knows days of the week or
what occurs on any specific day.
There is no expert evidence which might suggest that this particular child must
have a set weekly
routine. This is not to suggest that the Court does not accept
that daily routines for young children may be beneficial to them.
However, there
is nothing in the evidence which suggests that the weekly routine which the
mother proposes is any more beneficial
to the weekly routine which the father
proposes.
- The
father submitted that he would consent to an order that the time the child
spends with him be on no more than two weekends per
month. Given the
child’s young years, the mother’s part-time work and all other
matters considered, the Court does not
find that to place such a restriction on
the child’s time with the father is in his best interest (at least not at
present).
The child will remain living with and spending the vast majority of
his time with the mother.
- The
father’s work roster may mean that there is not the routine which the
mother submits is in the child’s best interest.
As already stated, there
is no evidence to suggest that this child requires a strict weekly routine. The
orders which the mother
seeks in reality do not mean any more of a routine for
the child than the father’s orders – all that they do is deprive
the
child of spending time with the father if the father’s rostered days off
do not fall on the days which the mother is nominating.
- The
evidence of the supervisor shows that the father is capable of looking after the
child’s physical needs. It also shows that
the child has clearly enjoyed
his interactions with the father and the paternal family. If the child is indeed
unsettled after spending
time with the father, this could be indicative of the
child wanting to spend more time with the father than the interim orders provide
for. Indeed, such an inference is supported by the supervisor’s notes of
the child’s reluctance to go back to the mother
at the conclusion of most
of the sessions with the father.
- It
was submitted on behalf of the mother that time should progress slowly and that
there should be consistent and regular time between
the child and father. The
mother proposes an increasing time arrangement, starting with three hours per
day three times per fortnight.
That is almost the same amount of time that the
child currently is spending with the father, being four hours per week (and thus
eight hours per fortnight). The mother proposes that this then be increased
after a period of five months to six hours three times
per fortnight and then
after another four months, to six hours four times per fortnight. It is only
when the child commences school
that the mother proposes he spend overnight time
with the father, which might be in either 2019 or 2020 given that the child will
turn 5 in April 2019.
- The
Court finds that such a slow progression of time, in circumstances where this
child after not seeing his father for over 15 months,
was able to reconnect so
quickly and so well, is contraindicated. The Court finds that the child spending
longer periods of time
with the father immediately is supported by the
independent evidence of the supervisor as well as the evidence of the father.
- However,
given the child’s age, the Court is still mindful of the child spending
prolonged periods away from his primary carer
and in the care of his father. For
that reason, time will progress more slowly than the father proposes but less
slowly than the
mother proposes.
Parental Responsibility
- Section
61C of the Act provides that each of the parents of a child who is not 18 years
has parental responsibility for the child.
This section states the legal
position that prevails in relation to parental responsibility to the extent to
which it is not displaced
by a parenting
order.[10]
- Section
61DA provides for a presumption of equal shared parental responsibility that
applies when the Court makes a parenting order.
As noted earlier, in interim
proceedings, the presumption applies unless the Court considers that it would
not be appropriate in
the circumstances for the presumption to be applied when
making an interim order.[11] The
presumption is also rebutted where there are reasonable grounds to believe that
a parent has engaged in family violence.
- It
is noted for the benefit of the parties that in making a final parenting order
in relation to a child, the Court must disregard
the allocation of parental
responsibility made in the interim
order.[12]
- The
Court having heard from the parties, and taking into consideration all of the
evidence, finds that the presumption of equal shared
parental responsibility has
not been rebutted. However, neither party sought an order allocating parental
responsibility, thus none
will be made, leaving the application of s61C intact.
Conclusion
- In
all of the circumstances and for all of the reasons set out above, it is in the
children’s best for orders to be made as
set out at the forefront of these
Reasons.
I certify that the preceding sixty (60) paragraphs are a
true copy of the reasons for judgment of Judge
Obradovic
Date: 9 May 2017
[1] see for example Slater &
Light [2011] FamCAFC 1at
[45]
[2] Mazorski &
Albright [2007] FamCA 520 at [26], cited with approval by the Full Court in
[3] Ibid at
[122]
[4] S.60CG(1)(b); see the
brief discussion of s60CG in Salah & Salah [2016] FamCAFC 100 at [35]
[5] See s60CG(2), such safeguards
are for the purposes of sub-paragraph
(1)(b)
[6] s61DA(3)
[7] MRR v GR [2010] HCA 4
at [15]
[8] [2006] FamCAFC 1346; (2007) 36 Fam LR 422,
(2006) FLC 93-286
[9] [2016]
FamCAFC 156 at [9]
[10] See note
1 s61C
[11] s61DA(3)
[12] s61DB
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