It can be extremely frustrating for parents when parenting Court Orders have been made, but are not being complied with by the other party. Often this will result in a party not seeing their children, or spending reduced time with their children.
The Court takes very seriously breaches of Court Orders by a parent without a reasonable excuse, and therefore often a legal remedy is available by way of bringing Contravention proceedings in the Court.
A successful Contravention Application may result in a wronged parent being granted make up time with their child, changes to the Court Orders in place (even change of residence, depending on the seriousness of the breach), and punishments for the wrongdoing party – such as costs orders and even fines or even imprisonment in the most serious cases of unjustified breaches of Court Orders.
On the other hand, the Court also recognises that sometimes a breach of parenting Orders may arise through no fault of the party accused to have breached the Orders, or otherwise the breach may be necessary for the safety and welfare of a parent or child.
In these circumstances, a parent accused of breaching parenting Orders may successfully defeat a Contravention Application brought against them in the Court.
At Sanicki Lawyers, our Family Law Team has extensive experience in both bringing successful Contravention applications in the Court, and also defending successfully Contravention Applications in the Court.
So if you are a parent frustrated that the other parent is not complying with parenting Court Orders, or if you are a parent who believes you have a very good reason not to comply with parenting Court Orders, then we can help.
You can contact Stephanie Hope, Senior Associate Family Lawyer and Head of Family Law at Sanicki Lawyers for legal advice and representation today.