No Contact Orders

If a court is required to make an order about the living arrangements for children after parents separate, it will generally make an order ensuring that the children regularly see both parents. The living arrangements that the court orders depend on the individual circumstances of each family. They may include:

• Children living with each parent on a week-about basis;
• Children living with one parent and spending time with the other parent for anywhere between 1 night and 6 nights per fortnight;
• Children spending time with each parent during the school holidays.

Can the court make no access parenting orders?

Sometimes the court makes an order for the children to not see one of the parents. However, a no-contact order will only be made in circumstances where the court believes that it is not in the best interests of the children to have contact with one of the parents at all.

The court may make an order for children not to see a parent when there are serious concerns about the care of the children when with that parent. These serious concerns may include:

• When children will be or have been exposed to significant family violence when in the care of a parent;
• When a parent has significant mental health issues and has not taken steps to address such issues;
• When a parent has an illegal substance addiction;
• When a parent has sexually abused a child of the relationship or engaged in conduct where the court believes that there will be an “unacceptable risk” for the children to see the parent.

What should I do if I think the children should not have contact with the other parent?

A parent concerned about whether their children should have contact with the other parent should do the following.

• Be clear about the reasons why the children should not see the other parent;
• Consider whether the other parent can do anything to address your concerns. This may include counselling, behaviour change programs or seeking medical assistance;
• Consider if the other parent can see the children whilst supervised by another person or through the use of supervised contact centre.

Before a parent decides that the children should not see the other parent and is considering asking a court to make such an order then they should obtain advice from a qualified family lawyer to discuss the specific circumstances of his/her family and the options available to minimise the impact on the children.

If you need advice about any family law matter then Armstrong Legal have experienced family lawyers throughout Australia with Accredited Family Law Specialists in Melbourne, Victoria to provide you with the advice that you need.

If you require legal advice or representation in any legal matter, please contact Armstrong Legal.