Family Law Court Report: Assessment for Holly's Children, Australia

This report is a comprehensive family assessment prepared for the Family Court of Australia, concerning a case where Holly, the mother of two children, is seeking parenting orders. The report, prepared by a social worker, details the history of domestic violence perpetrated by Holly's husband, Stephen, and its impact on the children, Sage and Jemima. It examines the family structure, issues, background, and relevant information, including observations, interviews, and records. The social worker provides a professional opinion, emphasizing the importance of the children's safety and well-being, and recommends that the court grant custody to the mother, while also considering the father's access to the children. The report references the Family Law Act 1975 and discusses the formulation of a parenting plan. The report also highlights the importance of safety planning for victims of domestic violence and the potential impact of domestic violence on children after separation.

Running head: FAMILY LAW
Name of the document or form Court Location
Rule number under which the document is filed File Number
ABOUT THE PARTIES
APPLICANT RESPONDANT
Family name as used now
Given names
ADDRESS OF THE SERVICE OF PERSON FILING
ABOUT THE INDEPENDENT CHILDRENS LAWYER

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................1
FAMILY ASSESSMENT...............................................................................................................3
AUTHORUTY............................................................................................................................3
INFORMATION SOURCES......................................................................................................4
FAMILY STRUCTURE..............................................................................................................5
ISSUES AND BACKGROUND.................................................................................................5
RELEVANT INFORMATION...................................................................................................6
PROFESSIONAL OPINION.......................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11
APPENDICES...............................................................................................................................13

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In the Family Court of Australia
In the matter of [to be filled in by the student]
Stephen ……. Appellant
-Versus-
Holly ……….. Respondent
FAMILY ASSESSMENT
Prepared by [ to be filled in by the student]
AUTHORITY
That the social worker is appointed by family and domestic violence service of advocacy.
That the report is prepared on behalf of holly in the Family court case. The report caters as well
as assist the jury in arriving decision regarding the parenting of children of holly that at present
residing with her mother.
The key concern that is evolving from the particular case study is holly had disconnected
from her spouse, whose name is Stephen, a few weeks before meeting with the social worker.
They have two children, namely Sage, who is about 18 years old and Jemima, who is about
seven years old. The behavior of holly’s husband got worse after the birth of Jemima (Bell,
2019). The contract was concluded by which Stephen and kids meet every Saturday afternoon.
The parents of holly take the kids to meet Stephen, and it had been noticed by Holly that Jemima
is very anxious and don’t want to meet her father It had been alleged by holly that her husband
was harassing her by texting abusive messages ad he might come to the parent home of holly
demanding to meet with his kids. The Protection order was already filed at that period. Stephen

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infringes on the protection order and approaches to holly at the time she was leaving Jemima’s
toddler. Thus resulting in this illegal activity conducted by Stephen, he was positioned under the
bond of good behavior as well as instruct not to move to Holy further. Stephen made an
application to the family court seeking full-time custody of his child. He is also alleging that her
mother is mentally unfit, and the same is adverse to the welfare of his child.
I have a master’s degree in the field of social work and also have experience in this field
for about six years. I, as the social worker, offer support to the sufferers of domestic harassment
by providing them the services they require. Furthermore, my duty is assisting the families in the
development of safety plans in addition to that access the resources for the purpose of evading
the violence. My responsibility is also to make the public awareness regarding the issues of
domestic violence.
INFORMATION SOURCES
Observation
In holly’s case. She and her husband got separated due to the cruel and abusive of her
husband, Stephen. The relation between Holly and Stephen was not healthy when they live
together as her husband used to control and dominate her in all manner. However, the situation
got deteriorated after the birth of Jamima. Stephen uses insulting language to his wife, and
verbally demean her in front of his children. Thus from the situation, it can be observed that it is
not a healthy decision to allow his daughter to stay with his father instead of her mother.

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Interviews
In conducting an interview, several family members of the holly and also with her, it had
been revealed that Stephen is very rude in nature, and his behavior is not at all acceptable.
Therefore it is not proper to allow custody of children to his father
Records
As there are several prior records in the case that reveal the abusive and cruel nature of
holly’s husband. Therefore by keeping in regard to the best interest of children, it would be
correct to permit custody to her mother. Because the children also not want to spend time with
his father and the impression of the father in their mind was also not good.
The case was engaging families where there exists the claim of domestic violence that
constitute the important portion of the caseloads in the family court of Australia. In this case,
holly, who is the mother of two children alleging that if custody of children is given permanently
to his husband, then it will be detrimental in the interest of the child. On the contrary, his
husband is alleging that Jamima’s mother is mentally unstable, so it will be dangerous to allow
his child to stay with his mother. Both the parties move to the family Court of Australia, praying
for relief. The family court arrives at a decision by keeping in consideration the interest and well-
being of the child.
There are also some issues that had been encountered is holly did not want to disclose her
husband’s character as she thought that it would be detrimental for her children in the long run.
The limitation that effected is certain record was not collected at that time.

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FAMILY STRUCTURE
NAME RELATIONSHIP AGE
Holly Mother 32
Stephen Father 33
Jamima Children of holly and
Stephen
7
Sage Children of holly and
Stephen
18 years
ISSUES AND BACKGROUND
In the case, the conduct of her husband prior to the birth of Jamima was very strict. After
her birth, it got worsen and her husband often use to verbally demeanor in front of her child by
using the abusive words “shit mother” and also put charge questioning her character. According
to holly, her husband got physically aggressive the first time when she was expectant with Sage.
Therefore after repeated violent conduct of her husband, she was forced to leave him and went to
his parental home. Holly took drastic steps by keeping her mind the protection and safeguards of
her children. According to her, if she continues to stay with her husband, then children might be
a victim of domestic violence that was committed by her husband.

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RELEVANT INFORMATION
Holly (mother of children)
Holly is the mother of both the children Jamima and Sage. She got separated from her
husband due to the abusive behavior of her husband. After the birth of her children, the situation
deteriorates, which compels her to leave his maternal home.
Stephen (father of children)
Stephen, who is the husband of holly, applied to the domestic court of Australia, praying for full-
time custody of his children. It is alleged by holly that her children got distressed when they
came in contact with her father and was not willing to meet her father. Thus by taking into regard
the interest of children, it is reasonable if the court allows her children to stay with Stephen. Thus
as a social worker, I advised that it is beneficial for the child to stay with her mother.
Nevertheless, the father, as a parent, has some access to children. Thus the court should grant
custody to the mother.
Children (Jamima and Sage)
Sage and Jamima are children of Stephen and Holly. The application that is made to the
family court is concerning the custody of Jamima and Sage.
PROFESSIONAL OPINION
The nature of the abusive conduct of perpetrator raises the issue of their capacity for parenting. It
is emphasized in this regard that the parental capacity of the preparatory, especially in the
perspective of post-separation interaction wherein the preparatory, get the scope to spend longer

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duration with children (Ebert, 2017). The honest and fair acknowledgment of the effect of
domestic harassment on the parental capacity of the preparatory put inevitable encounter to
proprietary of advancing maintenance of association of child and the preparatory. For instance,
the research initiated on the process of decision making in the matters of family law reveals that
child and preparatory association can be sustained by invalidating that is dismissing, minimizing
or negating regard of perpetration to coercive dominion by discourses embedded in the
normative misapprehension of domestic violence and gender (Leach, 2015). The culture of
family law prefer shared parenting as well as balancing the relationship of child and parent post-
separation that impacted the development of discursive strategies for removing or downplaying
the significance of coercive dominion to regard of the best interest of the child
The parenting planning is the voluntary agreement that shields the obligation of parents,
the real-world consideration of the daily life of the child in addition to that how the parents
approve and consult significant issues that are long term concerning their children. Thus the
parenting plan can be formulated under the Family Law Act 1975. The plan must get signed by
both parents of the child. The parenting plan deals with several features of the welfare, care, and
also the growth of the child (Mackenzie, 2016). Therefore in formulating a parenting plan, it is
required to consider the data that is entailed in flyers involving the legal execution of
establishing a parenting plan.
Therefore in taking a decision concerning the need and care of the child, the most
significant element to take into account is what is paramount for the child. The main concern of
family law is to safeguard and protect the child from the abusive conduct of their parents. The
children have the liberty to know their parents and also have an entitlement to be safeguarded
from danger or harm. Therefore the safety of children is primary consideration while considering

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the best interest of children. The victims of domestic and family violence require a safety plan
irrespective of the margin of assessed danger. The instant safety plan must be formulated with
women who are witnessing violence. Most of the women have formulated several creative and
strategic methods to keep both themselves and their children protected; however, they may not
structure a formalized plan. Thus it is hazardous for the service providers to presume that they
have knowledge of what keep both women and child protected in specific circumstances of
domestic and family violence (Reddy & Minnaar, 2015). The service providers, professionals,
can regulate the women by process of safety planning that esteem knowledge of the behavior of
preparatory and her comprehension of what keeps both the mother and child safe.
The mother is regarded as the potential capacity of parenting of the child as it is safe to
keep the child under the custody of the mother. It is also beneficial for the child to safeguard her
from domestic violence of father that pose an adverse impact on the best interest of the child.
Domestic violence is the forceful dominion pattern that is applied by adult male members
against a female that is his inmate partners with the intention of regulating the thought, belief, or
conduct of the victim. Furthermore, to penalize his inmates if she tries to resist his coercive
practices. The tactics might involve, however, not restricted to physiological, emotional,
economic, social, sexual, or physical abuse (Sutterlüty, 2017). It has also been noted that the
children who are witnessing coercive dominion after separation of her parents might be
extraordinarily distressed. This is not surprising as, after the separation of his parents, the contact
of the child may replace the intimate association as the opportunities for the preparatory to
control and intimidate their past intimate partner. Thus resulting in which the children may “bear
the brunt” of the continuing domestic harassment after the separation. Therefore facilitating
access of the children to the preparatory for interaction may be dangerous as reported by many

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sufferers of being harassed either verbally or physically while dropping the children to their
father for contact. The issue which may stem out is the re-association of the preparatory raise
further concern there is the tendency of committing abuse or violence to the new partner that is
children. All the determinants evolve the concern that has the potential effect to damage
parenting in addition to that provide the detrimental outcome to the relation of child and parents.
The theory of nature and complexities of intimate partner violence initiates to demonstrate the
dynamic method of violence that is chaotic, periodic, and random. The theory demonstrates
preventing sexual violence against women and inmate partner. Furthermore, adopting several
measures and producing proof that targeted to reinforce the area of sexual violence and intimate
partner. The primary policies of programs and prevention must be proactive and concentrate on
the prime cause of issues involving gender inequality, so women are affected due to violence
primarily. The cons engage gender-based violence that is violence in which generally the woman
is the victim.
CONCLUSION
Thus it can be concluded from the above-mentioned discussion that despite having
knowledge about domestic violence, the adverse effect on the well-being of the child with the
questionable capacities of parenting of the abusers as well as the legislation of family la. It w
instructing that well-being and acre of the children is rest on safeguarding her from any sort of
danger or harm. It is suggested by research that family court is favoring the relationship between
parents and children over safety. This impacted the continuance of domestic violence to attain
substantial unsupervised periods with their child. The cohesive dominion poses important
encounters and resulting which the particular structure of discursive approaches is employed for

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the purpose of invalidating the issue of domestic violence. The judicial officers are not familiar
with domestic violence and therefore rely on the expert evidence that is adduced to the court.
The crucial portion of the evidence that is implemented by judicial offices to determine the best
interest of the child in the case that is filed in family court concerning domestic violence is
assessments compiled and the recommendations that are made by the writers of the family
report. The children require to comprehend that they can’t restrict violence though there are
some factors that are beneficial for them. It is significant to tell the child that the most significant
things that they can implicate to keep themselves safe. The children who are witnesses to family
or domestic violence can deeply be affected. Therefore the safety planning and personal safety
are significant and also essential for a child whose family witnessing violence. Therefore it is
significant that children must have adequate knowledge of the safety plan that held them to stay
safe. Henceforth through several attempts have been initiated for safeguarding the interest of
children, the efficient method is to acquaint the child about their rights in the society and also
train them to safeguard at the time of danger. The court, while arriving decision about the
custody of the child, must concentrate on the parenting capacity of the parents and allows
custody to mother or father best on facts and circumstances of the case. Thus it is reasonable to
keep the child under the custody of the mother as it protects the child from the abusive conduct
of her father. However, the cons that exist in it is it deprives the child of her association with her
father, which indirectly hamper well being of the child. It is quite unusual for the child who did
not stay with his father on the grounds of the best interest of a child where the parents are
preparatory of the crime of domestic violence. It was indicated by the research that
notwithstanding the intent of reformation to upgrade the safety and interest of the child, the
circumstances have not altered since the initiation of reform amendments. Furthermore, it is

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significant to be acquainted with the encounters that are created by the dynamic nature of
domestic violence, as well as the adverse effect of the crime on parenting of victims, generally
dissipate when the mother is safe.
SIGNATURE, TITLE, AND DATE

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References
Bell, F. (2019). Family Law, Access to Justice, and Automation. Macquarie LJ, 19, 103.
Dunbar, W. L. (2015). Hearing a Child’s Voice in Divorce: A Judge’s Experience (Doctoral
dissertation, Antioch University).
Ebert, S., Peterson, C., Slaughter, V., & Weinert, S. (2017). Links among parents’ mental state
language, family socioeconomic status, and preschoolers’ theory of mind
development. Cognitive Development, 44, 32-48.
Jeffries, S. (2016). In the best interests of the abuser: Coercive control, child custody proceedings
and the “expert” assessments that guide judicial determinations. Laws, 5(1), 14.
Leach, P. (2015). When Parents Part: How Mothers and Fathers Can Help Their Children Deal
with Separation and Divorce. Knopf.
Mackenzie, F. A. (2016). Motherhood and Family Law (Doctoral dissertation, University of
Otago).
Parkinson, P., Taylor, N., Cashmore, J., & Austin, W. G. (2016). Relocation, research, and child
custody disputes. Parenting plan evaluations: Applied research for the family court, 431-
459.
Rathus AM, Z. (2016). Mapping the use of social science in Australian courts: the example of
family law children’s cases. Griffith Law Review, 25(3), 352-382.

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Reddy, E., & Minnaar, A. (2015). Safeguarding children from becoming victims of online sexual
abuse facilitated by virtual worlds. Child abuse research in South Africa, 16(1), 23-39.
Sheehan, R. (2018). Magistrates’ decision-making in child protection cases. Routledge.
Sutterlüty, F. (2017). Normative paradoxes of child welfare systems: An analysis with a focus on
Germany. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 25(1), 196-230.
Wertheimer, J. W. (2018). 11 Family courts and violence against women in Guatemala. Global
Legal History: A Comparative Law Perspective, 48.

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APPENDICES
SAFETY PLAN
The planning of safety is the procedure of assessing swhat is required for keeping safe. The plan
of safety should berelevant to the need and \should be implemented on the basis of changing
circumstances. Therefore it require to implement escape plan and practical strategies for
enhancing personal security.safety plan is looking forward to the proactive measure that ehance
the safety of children. It require to involve strategies such as social life, home, electronic, work
and security at vehicle.
HOME SAFETY
 The dangerous position in home are kitchen, bathroom or any place where the person get
easy access to the weapons.
 Reporting the violation of interference order to police
 Keeping alert of the suspect person .
 Identification prior to door opening
 Prepare escape bag of belongings and keep it hidden in the safe place.
TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT PERSONAL SAFETY
The children require to understand they need to adopt some strategies for preventing
violence. it s relevant to get the children aware the important and best things that keep
themselves safe and protected.

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SAFET PLAN FOR CHILDREN
 Assist them to know there arev warnings symbols of risk
 Train the children how to contact police and how to deliver full name and signature to
them.
 Keeping the concersation practical as fire safety, planning of natural disaster.
 Make code word at the time of risk and alosto ensure that children are aquainted with
the same.
 Planning of emergency exit and also aquianted the children with the same.
 Train childrentaht there is no obligation to stop abuser at the time they are violent or
angry.
KEEPINF SAFE AT CAR, IN WORK AND AT COMMUNITY
It is significant that someone in the working place who have knowledge abput what is
happening on another however the victim may be selective about what to tell them.
PHONE, MOBILE AND COMPUTER SAFETY
Report regarding phone abuse. Keeping proper records as well as original messages for
courts and police.
EMERGENCY ESCAPE PLAN
The plan cpncentrates on the matter than can be done in opgrance to be better anr compelled
to leave the violent situation without warnings.
Plan If decisions are made to leave violent
circumstances then how will you get safety

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Who will tell about the violence and appeal to
call the police in case they heard of suspicious
sound coming from the residence
Who else can it be told
When and how will you train the child to
apply phone to communicate police
If there is a necessity to leave home then
which place is proper to move
What situation is considered to be perfect for
fighting with an individual who applies
violence
Where will the child move that is a safe space
and lowest risk?
There is a requirement to teach the child as a
code word and a safe location.