A mother cannot deny a father access to their children in Australia. There is a presumption of equal and shared parental responsibility. Only an order from a local court or the Federal Circuit Court and Family Court of Australia would be able to stop a father from accessing their children in Australia.
Can you withhold your child from their other parent? In Australia, you are required to comply with court orders regarding parental matters, and that will generally stipulate that both parties have access to a child. So, you cannot withhold your child from their other parent.
A mother cannot stop a father seeing his child unless the court orders to do so. If the child is scared of the father due to some kind of abuse or harm, then the mother would need to speak to the child and gather evidence which may prove the child being at risk.
Your partner cannot legally stop you from having access to your child unless continued access will be of detriment to your child's welfare. Until a court order is arranged, one parent may attempt to prevent a relationship with the other. If this happens, your main priority should be the welfare of your child.
Can My Visitation Rights Be Denied By The Court? Yes. If the custodial parent files a complaint or an injunction to the court, in order to deny the noncustodial parent, their visitation rights, the court may grant so, on the basis of the complaint.
Based on this a married fathers rights over a child include the rights to make decisions concerning the legal matters, as well as educational, health and welfare and religious matters. A father's rights over a child will also require him to provide food, clothes and shelter for his child.
The General Rule
A parent cannot stop the other parent from seeing the children, except in rare situations. This means that contact cannot be prevented, even in situations like these: A parent refuses to pay child support.
I'm often asked if there is a way for a parent to stop their child spending time with the other parent's new partner. The short answer is no. Both parents have parental responsibility and they are able to exercise that responsibility in whatever way they see fit.
By the age of two years, a monthly overnight stay might be possible, encouraged and supported by each parent and carefully monitored for any distress to the child, and leading to more frequent overnight stays during the latter part of this period.
Each family is unique and reasonable access for fathers depends on the individual circumstances. Some fathers see their children every day, while others might see them just once a month. Parents might share responsibilities and alternate weekend contact, or some fathers may have weekend contact every week.
Not all parents of a child following a divorce or separation remain amicable. Therefore, in some instances the mother may refuse granting a parental responsibility to a father. It is important to note that married fathers who are named on the child's birth certificate are automatically granted parental responsibility.
Current legislation on fathers' rights in Australia
The current legislation presumes that each parent has equal shared parental responsibility with significant decisions concerning children's care, welfare and development. This presumption is rebutted where there is evidence of family violence.
There is often a perception in family law that parental alienation is not recognised by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. While the term parental alienation is not specified or defined in the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), it can and has been recognised in the Courts.
Generally, where parents are in bitter custody disputes, then overnight time may not commence until the child is around 2 and a half or 3 years of age and this will usually be one overnight with a view to gradually increase it.
In Australia, there is no minimum age which a child can legally refuse to see a parent following divorce or separation. Of course, once children of divorce reach the age of 18 years they can make their own decisions about where they live or which parent they want to spend time with.
In the end, courts can force people to do things, but they can't force people to want to do things. The answer to the question, therefore, must still be: no, the courts cannot force a parent to see a child.
The court can order that the child lives with one parent or both parents, and specify when the child lives with each parent. If the child lives with one parent, the court can order when the child is to have contact or spend time with the other parent. The contact could be face-to-face (direct contact).
This particular tactic is called parental alienation, and it is an attempt to isolate a child from the other parent. Whether the reason comes from a parent or not, a parent does not have the legal right to keep a child away from the other parent if there is a court order that requires visitation.
If you don't have a court order and you are not being allowed to visit your child, you will have to ask the court to enter a visitation order. You can do this through the divorce court (if you are divorced from the child's other parent) or the paternity court (if you were never married to the child's other parent).
Unless a court order authorizes such action, one parent can't block another parent with custodial rights from contacting their own child. Otherwise, the blocked parent will have legal recourse through the family courts.
Narcissistic Parental Alienation syndrome refers to the process of psychological manipulation of a child by a parent to show fear, disrespect, or hostility towards the other parent. Very often, the child can't provide logical reasoning for the difference in their behaviour towards both parents.
The answer depends on what the custody order says about communication with the minor child during the other parent's custodial time. If the order does not say anything about communication, then your ex is not required to let the child talk to you just because you have joint custody.