Re Helen [2004] NSWLC 7

Local Court of New South Wales

CITATION: Re Helen [2004] NSWLC 7 JURISDICTION: Children's Court PARTIES: Director General of Department of Community Services; Re Helen FILE NUMBER: PLACE OF HEARING: St James Childrens Court DATE OF DECISION: 01/29/2004 MAGISTRATE: CATCHWORDS: Parental responsibility - contact orders LEGISLATION CITED: Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 s44, s82 CASES CITED: Hughes K & M, In the Marriage of (1980) FLC 90-869 Sedgley, In the Marriage of (1995) FLC 92-623 REPRESENTATION: ORDERS:

Reasons for Judgment

In these proceedings, commenced by the Director-General of the Department of Community Services, it is common ground that the subject child, "Helen", should be placed in the parental responsibility of the Minister until she attains the age of eighteen years. The issue to be determined relates to contact and, in that regard, two proposals are offered to the Court. The Director-General handed up a minute of orders providing for Helen's face-to-face contact with her mother, supervised, for a minimum of two hours on six occasions per year together with at least monthly telephone contact. In order to accommodate Helen's particular needs for the first twelve months after orders are made, the minute provides that such face to face contact occur not merely in alternate months but on a monthly basis. It should be emphasized, as Ms. Collopy submitted, that the pattern of contact proposed by the Director-General, particularly for the first twelve months, represents a very significant concession to Helen's particular needs and circumstances and great deal more contact than might otherwise have been anticipated in the case of a long term placement. Further, it was stressed on behalf of the Director-General that his contact proposals represent a minimum which he might not be adverse to increasing from time to time should circumstances suggest that course.