NSW Family Law - Help to Get Access to My Baby?

[PeterA]

Hello,

I'm just wondering if anyone can help. My baby boy is almost 6 months old. I've only held him twice in the hospital just after he was born.

We separated in August last year. My wife refused to put me on the birth certificate but that has been corrected as of yesterday

I've been in Australia for 4 years - coming over on a skilled Visa - transferring to a partner Visa - that's all up in the air now. She will not respond to any contact. She slept with a guy causing premature birth. I found out and sent a strong, not threatening email - she slapped me with an AVO (non - criminal).

My question is I want to see him, stay in the country and contribute to his life - giving him the best.

Any help with family law would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[AllForHer]

I would suggest not ever speculating to the court that the mother having sex led to the premature birth of the child. Unless you're a doctor, that statement serves no purpose other than to make the mother seem irresponsible and reckless, and quite frankly, if I received a "strong but non-threatening email" about my private and personal choices from my ex, I would be seeking an AVO, too. Not a good start to your case.

Your first step is to contact a family dispute resolution service, such as Legal Aid or Relationships Australia, to organise a mediation conference. This is a mandatory step before court and gives you both an opportunity to try and negotiate care arrangements for the child. The service will contact your ex on your behalf, so it won't be breaching the AVO, and both parties sign a disclaimer before mediation agreeing, or rather accepting that attendance is not a breach of an AVO.

If the mother refuses to attend or an agreement is otherwise unable to be reached, then the mediator will grant you a s60I certificate which will enable you to commence proceedings in Court.

That's a long way down the track, so focus first on mediation. Think about what care arrangements you think would be best for the child. Ask to speak to a child consultant at Relationships Australia so you can get some ideas for care arrangements.