Aveskamp & Nosek (No 2) [2025] FedCFamC1F 880 (28 November 2025)

1. The father have sole decision-making responsibility for all major or long-term issues in relation to the children X born in 2017, and Y born in 2022 ("the children").
2. Notwithstanding order 2, except in the event of an emergency the father will consult the mother about all major or long-term issues in relation to the children as follows:

(a) he will inform the mother in writing about the proposed decision to be made and his reason(s) for it prior to making a decision; and

(b) invite the mother to respond with her views in relation to the decision to be made within fourteen (14) days; and

(c) provided the response is received within fourteen (14) days, consider the mother's views when making the decision; and

(d) have regard to the best interests of the children as the paramount consideration; and

(e) inform the mother in writing of his decision within forty-eight (48) hours of making the decision.

(a) for the purposes of the preceding order, the mother or her agent will deliver the children to the father at noon on Saturday, 29 November 2025 at F recreation facility, Suburb G; and

(b) the mother or her agent will deliver the children's clothes, any medicines, school items, photographs of their family, toys and anything else that is important to the children to the father at noon on Sunday 30 November 2025 at F recreation facility, Suburb G.

1. The children spend time with the mother as agreed between the parents in writing and failing agreement as set out in these Orders.
2. The children spend no time and have no communication with the mother for a period of four (4) weeks from the date of this Order "the moratorium", such moratorium to end on 27 December 2025, save for the father facilitating communication between the children and the mother by the Talking Parents App where he shall initiate the call at 9:00am on Christmas Day 2025.
3. Following the moratorium of time referred to in Order 6, the children spend time with the mother as follows:

(a) for a period of six (6) months from the conclusion of the moratorium in Order 6 or until such time as the mother has complied with the requirements of Order 8(a) and (b), whichever is the longer, a minimum of two (2) hours each fortnight supervised by and taking place with H Contact Centre:

(i) or the purpose of the preceding order, the parties must within seven (7) days do all acts and things to contact H Contact Centre for the purposes of intake, and the mother shall bear the costs of H Contact Centre.

(b) thereafter upon the completion of either six (6) months or the mother having complied with Order 8(a) and (b) (whichever is the longer) unsupervised for a period of three (3) months each alternate Saturday from 9:00am until 11:00am; then

(c) thereafter, for a period of three (3) months each alternate Saturday from 9:00am until 1:00pm; then

(d) thereafter, for a period of three (3) months each alternate Saturday from 9:00am until 5:00pm; then

(e) thereafter, for a period of three (3) months each alternate Saturday from 9:00am until Sunday 5:00pm; then

(f) thereafter, for a period of three (3) months each alternate weekend from the conclusion of school or 3:00pm Friday until Sunday 5:00pm; thereafter

(g) each alternate weekend from the conclusion of school or 3:00pm Friday until 9:00am or the commencement of school on Monday.

1. The children's time with the mother pursuant to these orders is subject to and dependant on:

(a) the mother engaging with and attending on a clinical psychologist to undertake psychotherapy in respect of matters identified in the Family Reports of Ms C, the transcript of the evidence of the mother and the transcript of the evidence of Ms C's oral evidence and the transcript of the submissions made today and the settled Reasons for Judgment delivered today, and the mother shall communicate to the father the name and qualifications of that psychologist within seven (7) days of her engagement with them pursuant to this order.

(b) the mother's clinical psychologist providing a report confirming that:

(i) the clinical psychologist has read and considered:

1. these orders; and
2. the Family Reports of Ms C filed 16 January 2025 and 27 August 2025; and
3. a transcript of the mother's evidence given in these proceedings and a transcript the evidence of Ms C and a transcript of the submissions made in the matter by Counsel on 28 November 2025 and the settled Reasons for Judgment delivered today; and

(ii) the clinical psychologist has discussed the documents referred to in Order 8(b) with the mother; and

(iii) the clinical psychologist has engaged in psychotherapy with the mother in respect of the issues identified in or arising out of the documents referred to in Order 8(b); and

(iv) in the opinion of the clinical psychologist, the mother has understood the documents, accepted the outcome reflected in those documents (including these Orders), and processed her response to the outcome reflected in those documents; and

(c) the mother continuing to engage with that psychologist for a period of not less than 12 months or until the psychologist identifies that the mother is no longer benefitting from such appointments, whichever is the longer.

1. For the purposes of the preceding order, pursuant to s 114Q(2) the mother has leave to and shall provide to that psychologist:

(a) a copy of the court's orders of 28 November 2025; and

(b) the Family Reports of Ms C; and

(c) a transcript of the mother's evidence, a transcript of the evidence of Ms C, a transcript of the submissions made on 28 November 2025 in support of the orders sought, and the settled Reasons for Judgment delivered orally today.

1. Upon the children commencing spending time with the mother in accordance with Order 7(e), the children spend unsupervised time with the mother during school holidays as follows:

(a) during the March/April (Easter) school holidays as follows:

(i) for the half of the holidays that Easter Sunday falls in with the father in even numbered years, and for the other half with the Mother; and

(ii) for the half of the holidays that Easter Sunday falls in with the mother in odd numbered years, and for the other half with the Father; and

(iii) for the purposes of orders 10(a)(i) and (ii), the school holiday period will commence at the conclusion of the school term and conclude at the commencement of the new school term; and

1. changeover shall occur at 3:00pm on the middle day of the school holiday period which shall be calculated by adding the total number of nights in the holiday period and dividing by two, in the event there is an uneven number of nights the children will spend the additional night with the father in even numbered years and with the mother in odd numbered years.

(b) during the June/July, and September/October school holidays for the first half of the holidays with the mother, and the second half of the holidays with the father.

(i) for the purposes of the preceding order:

1. the school holiday period will commence at the conclusion of the school term and conclude at the commencement of the new school term; and
2. changeover shall occur at 3:00pm on the middle day of the school holiday period which shall be calculated by adding the total number of nights in the holiday period and dividing by two, in the event there is an uneven number of nights the children will spend the additional night with the father in even numbered years and with the mother in odd numbered years.

(c) during the December/January school holidays on a seven (7) night (week-about) basis commencing with the father in weeks 1, 3, and 5 and with the mother in weeks 2, 4, and 6.

(i) For the purposes of the preceding order:

1. the school holiday period will commence at the conclusion of the school term and conclude at the commencement of the new school term; and
2. changeover shall occur at 3:00pm after every seven (7) night period with the usual term time referred to in Order 7 recommencing at the end of the 6th week of holiday time.

1. Notwithstanding any other order herein, the children will spend time with the parents during special occasions as follows (as long as the requirements of Order 8(a) and (b) have been met):

(a) Mother's Day with the mother between 9:00am and 5:00pm; and

(b) Father's Day with the father between 9:00am and 5:00pm; and

(c) commencing in 2026, with the mother between midday Christmas Eve and midday Christmas Day in even numbered years and with the father between midday Christmas Day and midday Boxing Day in even numbered years and commencing in 2027, with the mother between midday Christmas Day and midday Boxing Day in odd numbered years and with the father in odd numbered years between midday Christmas Eve and midday Christmas Day; and

(d) the parents be at liberty to communicate with the children at 6.00pm on each of the children's birthdays when the children are not in their care, with the non-contact parent initiating the call and the contact-parent facilitating the call.

1. Unless otherwise provided in these Orders, or unless otherwise agreed in writing, changeovers will occur at F recreation facility, Suburb G.

1. Subject to the moratorium of time, the children be at liberty to communicate with either parent at all reasonable times that they request, and the parent caring for the children will facilitate such communication.
2. Subject to the moratorium of time, that the parents be at liberty to communicate with the children at 6.00pm each Wednesday when the children are not in their care, with the non-contact parent initiating the call and the contact-parent facilitating the call**.**
3. The parents will communicate via the 'Talking Parents App' unless in the case of an emergency and for that purpose, the parents will do all acts and things to ensure that they hold current subscription/s for same.

(a) keep the other parent informed at all times of their contact telephone number, and address and will update the other parent within forty-eight (48) hours of any change; and

(b) keep the other parent informed of the names and addresses of any treating medical or other health practitioners who treat the children and authorise those practitioners to provide the other parent with information that they are lawfully able to provide about the children; and

(c) inform the other parent as soon as reasonably practicable of any significant medical condition, significant health issue or significant illness suffered by the children. This Order authorises any treating medical practitioner to release the children's medical information to the other parent at the request of that parent; and

(d) the parents authorise, by this order, the schools attended by the children to give each parent information about the children's educational progress and other school related activities and supply them with copies of school reports, photographs, certificates and awards obtained by the children (at that parent's cost).

1. During the time the children are with either parent, both the mother and father shall:

(a) respect the privacy of the other parent and not question the children about the personal life of the other parent; and

(b) not discuss adult issues with the children including these proceedings or protection order proceedings; and

(c) not physically discipline the children; and

(d) speak of the other parent respectfully; and

(e) not denigrate or insult the other parent or a member of that parent's family in the presence or hearing of the children and use their best endeavours to ensure that others do not denigrate or insult the other parent or member of that parent's family in the hearing or presence of the children.

1. The father be restrained by injunction from permitting the children to be left in the unsupervised care of Mr B.
2. The mother be restrained by injunction from permitting the children to be left in the unsupervised care of Mr K or Mr L.
3. The parents are restrained from relocating the residence of the children to more than a 50km radius from Suburb G without the consent of the other parent in writing.
4. Upon the children spending unsupervised time with the mother, the mother shall be at liberty to attend school and extra-curricular activity events, to which parents are invited to attend.
5. The mother and father continue to engage with their respective treating psychologists for a minimum of one year following these orders.

(a) for the purposes of the preceding order, pursuant to s 114Q(2) the mother and father are permitted to provide a copy of the family reports of Ms C filed 16 January 2025 and 27 August 2025 to their respective treating psychologists.

1. The father is at liberty, pursuant to s 114Q (2) of these Orders to provide to the school, educational facility or medical practitioner a copy of these Orders and, should it be necessary, provide to the Department of Child Safety and the police (whether Federal or State) any document in these proceedings.

1. The father is permitted to provide a copy of the Affidavit of Mr D sealed on 28 November 2024, the Affidavit of Ms C sealed on 16 January 2025 and the Affidavit of Ms C sealed on 27 August 2025 to the Magistrates Court with respect to the domestic violence proceedings that are currently on foot between the parties.
2. The father and his legal advisors be released of the obligation of the implied undertakings to this Court in Harman v Home Department State Secretary [1983] 1 AC 280 with respect to the Affidavit of Mr D sealed on 28 November 2024, the Affidavit of Ms C sealed on 16 January 2025 and the affidavit of Ms C sealed on 27 August 2025.
3. Relief from the implied Harman obligations referred to in Order 25 herein is to be limited to the use of the documents, or provisions of the documents to, as follows:

(a) civil proceedings (including domestic violence proceedings) in the Magistrates Court (the domestic violence proceedings) and any superior Court to which the domestic violence proceedings may be referred; and

(b) any practitioner appearing on behalf of or advising the parties in relation to the domestic violence proceedings.

1. Pursuant to s 65L(1)(b) Ms C, Consultant, shall meet with the children to explain these orders and for that purpose the father do all acts and things to make the children available at the request of the family consultant, such meeting to occur on Monday, 1 December 2025.

1. Each party shall bear their own costs of and incidental to these proceedings.
2. All outstanding applications are otherwise dismissed and removed from the list of cases requiring determination.

1. Save as is otherwise ordered herein, no party is permitted to use the documents provided to them in the course of this proceeding for any purpose other than this proceeding or any appeal in respect of these Orders.
2. Upon receiving a copy of the transcripts of the transcript of the evidence of the mother and the transcript of the evidence of Ms C's oral evidence and the transcript of the submissions made today in support of the orders sought and the settled Reasons for Judgment delivered orally today, the Independent Children's Lawyer is discharged.
3. The original Minute of Consent Orders signed by the parties be placed and kept on the Court file.
4. Pursuant to s 65DA(2) and s 62B of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), the particulars of the obligations these Orders create and the particulars of the consequences that may follow if a person contravenes these Orders and details of who can assist parties to adjust to and comply with an Order are set out in the Fact Sheet attached and these particulars are included in these Orders.

1. Once they are obtained, a copy of the transcripts of the mother's evidence, the evidence given by Ms C, the submissions made by Counsel today in support of this order and the settled Reasons for Judgment shall be provided to the solicitors for each of the parents and the Independent Children's Lawyer.

1. It is agreed that the parents will enter into mutual undertakings with regards to the concurrent domestic violence proceedings to be of good behaviours towards each other and will provide Police with a copy of said undertakings.
2. It is noted that the intention is that the mother will provide a copy of the documents referred to in Order 9 to the clinical psychologist upon whom she attends.

1. There is no Court known by the name "Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia".

1. The design of the seal affixed to this order issued by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) has been determined by the Attorney-General pursuant to the undated Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Seal) Determination 2021 signed by the Attorney-General.

Note: The form of the order is subject to the entry in the Court's records.

Note: This copy of the Court's Reasons for judgment may be subject to review to remedy minor typographical or grammatical errors (r 10.14(b) Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth)), or to record a variation to the order pursuant to r 10.13 Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth).

Part XIVB of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) makes it an offence, except in very limited circumstances, to publish an account of proceedings that identify persons, associated persons, or witnesses involved in family law proceedings.

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment by this Court under a pseudonym Aveskamp & Nosek (No 2) has been approved pursuant to subsection 114Q(2) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

1. I have heard, this afternoon, submissions made by Counsel who appear on behalf of the Independent Children's Lawyer and each of the parents in support of the orders to which the parents have agreed following the trial which commenced before me on Monday of this week.
2. I have had the opportunity to see each of the parents give evidence and to see the witnesses called in their respective cases give evidence. I have also been assisted by evidence given by a psychiatrist, Dr E, and Ms C, who has authored two Family Reports that form part of the evidence.
3. I do not intend, in these oral Reasons delivered to explain why I am persuaded that the orders that the parents seek that I make and the Independent Children's Lawyer endorses - as amended during the course of my discussion with Counsel this afternoon - are orders which are in these children's best interests to recite all of the evidence.
4. I accept, generally, the submissions made by Counsel for the Independent Children's Lawyer prior to him becoming unable to continue further in this matter. I also accept, generally, the findings that he sought that I make, and I make those findings.
5. It is, I think, important in this matter to record findings - given the allegations that have been made and the consequences for the children of the fact of the making of those allegations. Those consequences have included that they were unable to spend time with their father, who, until December 2023, was very involved in their lives on a daily basis and who, until that time, had discharged many, if not all, of the usual day-to-day parenting tasks associated with parenting children of their ages.
6. The evidence before me does not persuade that the father poses any risk to the children. It does not persuade that he has sexually abused either of them. I am not remotely convinced that he digitally or peniley penetrated his daughter. I am not persuaded that, whilst bathing Y in the shower, in about December 2023, he had an erection. I am not at all persuaded that he, as was reported by the mother when she attended at hospital in 2023, had undertaken what is described in Exhibit 7 as "inappropriate touching" of the children, on a daily basis.
7. The "inappropriate touching", according to that document, is recorded as being:

More contact and force than necessary during nappy changes/toilet wiping/shower cleaning.

1. I am not persuaded, on the evidence, that, in discharging those usual aspects of parenting of children of those ages, pre-December 2023, the father acted in any way that was abusive of them.
2. Exhibit 7, the document to which I am referring (being the Health document dated [redacted] 2023) also contains the mother's assertion to the paediatric team then interviewing her of information which is recorded in these terms:

In terms of more serious incidents/possible penetrative abuse happening much less commonly, maybe fortnightly to monthly.

1. I am not remotely persuaded on the evidence before me that the father engaged in any serious incidents or possible penetrative abuse of either of his daughters on any occasion - let alone at the frequency described by the mother to the members of the paediatric team which resulted in the taking of those notes.
2. It is important for the purposes of, and to facilitate, the implementation of the orders that the parents have agreed to, that the therapist upon whom the mother attends recognises that, in her presentation to persons such as members of the Police Service, she (the mother) has presented in a way that caused them to reach the conclusion that she was genuine in the assertions and statements she recounted; and that she was, in essence, a reasonable person acting reasonably on the basis of an appropriate and reasonable factual scenario.
3. That, it seems to me, is contradicted by various aspects of the evidence before me, which include the assertion contained in Exhibit 8 (being notes of the mother's interview by Departmental officers on 3 January 2024) which include:

Going on for so long, and I didn't know

following questions that clearly related to the allegations that the father had sexually abused their daughters.

1. The assertion that the alleged behaviour was "Going on for so long, and I didn't know" needs to be seen in the context of the mother's sworn evidence that she had formed the view, immediately after the event at the pool when X was an infant, that the father had penetrated their daughter and caused her injury to the extent that his actions resulted in, to use the mother's terminology, the child's vagina being "torn".
2. The mother's evidence when cross-examined also included the maintenance of a view that had been expressed to Ms C during the first interviews for the first Family Report - namely, that it was unfortunate that the police did not find evidence to charge the father; that she had wanted police to find evidence so that they could charge him with sexually abusing their children.
3. The mother's evidence included that she believes that the father is a paedophile. When asked why a paedophile should have any time with the children, she initially said she did not have the answer. When asked why she had asked for the children to spend time with him, given that she thought him a paedophile, she said that she did not know - before later, in response to a further question designed to explore that issue, giving evidence to the effect that she had reflected and had been flip-flopping and had arrived at the conclusion that she wanted the children to have some idea of who the father was in a safe environment, so that he was not just a hidden monster in a wardrobe, and so that they could see the good parts of him. She maintained this position when asked "even though he was a paedophile", and even though she thought he should be in jail.
4. If the mother genuinely believed the father to be a paedophile, and if he genuinely was, he would, in fact, be a monster. There would be no benefit to any children of having any interaction with him. He would pose a risk to the children that he teaches.
5. The mother's evidence and her views in that respect are almost impossible to reconcile with her conduct. Her case has advanced that, despite knowing (on her evidence) that the father sexually abused their infant daughter, she failed to make any complaint of that to any authority: she remained in a relationship with him; she had another child with him; she did nothing to stop him teaching and carrying out his duties as a primary school teacher.
6. Her conduct is, it seems to me, entirely inconsistent with the asserted belief that the father had, in fact, done what she alleges in her evidence that he had done at the pool when their daughter was an infant.
7. These inconsistencies are, it seems to me, something to which clear and careful consideration needs to be paid by whichever therapist undertakes the process of therapy that the parents agree the mother will participate in.
8. It is for this reason that I am expressing these comments and findings.
9. In addition, the mother's conduct after December 2023 in leaving both of the children alone with her aunt and the father whilst she attended the shops with the maternal grandmother, in circumstances where she said she had not told her aunt anything about what she said she had seen (namely, the father having an erection while showering Y), is also, it seems to me, conduct that is entirely inconsistent with the maintenance of an honestly held belief that the father had, in fact, raped Y or had perpetrated some form of penetrative abuse towards her in the shower.
10. The mother's evidence also included, when asked about the information conveyed to Ms C that the father had tried to kill her and tried to kill the children, that these were not the best words. When it was suggested to her that it was simply not right, her answer was that she did not think it was "out of the realms" of what was happening at the time. When asked whether the father had ever tried to kill her, her answer was: "not exactly". When asked whether he had ever tried to kill the children, her evidence was that he was making it obvious he wanted to kill the children - because, on her assessment, he had positively chosen the YouTube episode of the comedy show with, on her case, the clear intention of causing her to form a view that he was threatening not only her, but also the children.
11. There is nothing in the evidence to suggest that the father has ever threatened to physically harm the mother or the children. I reject completely the contention that he has threatened to harm his children in any way and I certainly reject the contention that he has threatened to kill them - either directly or by way of any indirect conduct.
12. The mother's evidence also included, when asked some questions about X's suggestion during her police interview, of the father suffering some sort of injury out in the garden, that she thought it was quite plausible that the father had injured himself while gardening, and that he had self-inflicted an injury "to keep [X] quiet". That the mother considered that to be something which is "quite plausible" (to take up her evidence) is also, it seems to me, relevant when whomever provides the therapy that it is agreed the mother will engage in, embarks upon that process.
13. The mother's evidence also included the assertion that the father had been a good person turning into a bad person; her evidence included that, during the last 12 months of their relationship, there had been a deterioration in what I will describe as his general presentation.
14. The fact that the mother could describe the father as a good person turning into a bad person seems to me to come into direct conflict with her evidence that she had formed the view, contemporaneously with the incident, that he had raped their baby.
15. It is also relevant, I consider, for the therapeutic process to take into account another aspect of the mother's evidence: that is, her evidence that, in essence, there was one way the parents could go back to being the great team she said they had been (at some stage at least) - and that was for the father to admit that he had sexually abused the children and to tell the truth, because then she would be prepared to talk to him about how the two of them could coparent together; that she would really like to see him admit what he had done so that they could move forward; and she would be able to tell the children that Daddy was trying so hard to get better.
16. When asked "to get better from what?" she said, "from the sexual abuse and his tendencies".
17. The thrust of her evidence was, in essence, that she would be able to tell the children that, and, if the father was honest, then he and she could have open chats.
18. That evidence also, it seems to me, is incredibly difficult to reconcile with the mother's evidence that she considers the father to have sexually abused both of their children - when one was an infant, and when one was a toddler.
19. The fact that the mother has continued to express those matters during the course of her cross-examination this week is, I think, demonstrative of the views that she continues to hold about the father; and demonstrative, therefore, of the issues that need to be addressed in the therapy that is to be undertaken as a consequence of orders being made in the terms agreed between the parents and supported by the Independent Children's Lawyer.
20. It is also, I think, appropriate in this case that I record that I am not persuaded in any way that, following the showering in later 2023, the father acted to keep the mother and the children, in a sense, trapped for a week or ten days in order to prevent the mother either obtaining medical assistance or reporting the allegation.
21. I reject entirely the suggestion that the absence of any contact by the mother with authorities in the week to, say, 14 day period following what she said was an abusive act by the father of Y was, in any way, the consequence of his conduct.
22. I also adopt and accept the submissions made by Counsel for the Independent Children's Lawyer about the inconsistencies in the mother's accounts vis-à-vis the issue of her father's asserted ten year long intravenous heroin habit and, to the extent that it's necessary to do so, I accept that the account provided to a counsellor working for J Counselling organisation was completely contrasted by the evidence of the maternal grandmother - who found the assertion that her now ex-husband had an intravenous heroin habit to be fanciful.
23. It is relevant, I think (as I have already said) for the person undertaking the therapeutic intervention with the mother to note that: those to whom she (the mother) has spoken, including police, have recorded that they have believed her to be credible and reasonable; the Department, on the basis of the information conveyed to it and its assessment of the mother, considered her to be a protective parent who had taken reasonable steps in the circumstances in which she found herself.
24. That those organisations arrived at those conclusions is certainly suggestive of the care that is likely to be required by a therapist in undertaking the therapeutic activities intended to be undertaken with the mother in order to arrive at the situation where the children's interests are maintained and they are protected from any exposure to the possibility of them learning of her views about the father.
25. Each Counsel who appeared for the parents have placed on the record the submissions they intend to be recorded to reflect their respective clients' support of the orders.
26. I accept that the submissions made by each of Counsel who appeared for the parents, of course, accurately reflect their respective clients' intentions and the bases upon which each of those persons has sought that the Court be persuaded that the orders agreed between them are orders which are now in X and Y's best interests.
27. I intend, as I have said during discourse with Ms Black, to make an order for the obtaining of the transcripts, and to enable those documents to be provided by the mother to the clinical psychologist upon whom she will attend to undertake the psychotherapy referred to in the orders.
28. I will include in the order when it issues a Notation that it is intended that the mother provide the clinical psychologist upon whom she will attend with a copy of the documents referred to in what will be Order 9 of the orders which will issue in terms which encompass a copy of the orders, a copy of the Family Reports prepared by Ms C, a copy of the transcript of the mother's evidence, a copy of the transcript of the evidence of Ms C, a copy of the submissions made by Counsel today in support of the making of the orders to which the parents have agreed, and which they both seek the Court make, and also a copy of the Reasons I have just delivered orally once the same are settled.
29. I am persuaded in the circumstances of this case, therefore, that the orders sought by the parents and supported by the Independent Children's Lawyer, as amended during the course of discourse this afternoon, are orders which are in the children's best interests.
30. I will make those orders in the terms as amended.

I certify that the preceding forty-two (42) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Ex Tempore Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Justice Hogan.