There might be serious penalties imposed for a conviction of contempt, including imprisonment. In an appeal court case of Rossi & Commissioner of Police [2011], a mother was found to have knowingly contravened three parenting orders, after taking her child from school during the morning break and taking him to Adelaide. When police entered the premises, the boy was found hiding in a shower recess.
The mother had bleached his hair and her own which the Court found to be an attempt to avoid being detected. The Court found that the breaches were very serious and the mother was sentenced to imprisonment for six months. The Full Court found that the imprisonment sentence was not excessive having regard to the circumstances of the case and the need for general and specific deterrence.
If you want to file a charge of Contempt because a parenting order has been contravened, there are some important things to consider:
In A Bank & Coleiro [2011] the Full Court stated that a fair hearing of the charge of contempt under s112AP requires the following ten steps to be taken by the Court:
It is important that a person charged with contempt is aware of the above steps and makes the appropriate applications, pleas and submissions.
It is recommended that anyone who is served with or is contemplating filing an application for contempt obtain legal advice from a family law specialist.
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