Parents' dispute over their daughters' names lands in High Court

By Hanna McCallum

A dispute between two separated parents who couldn't agree on their twin daughters' names has ended up in the High Court.

The naming of the two girls, now aged five, was previously the subject of a Family Court case in 2021 after the father sought orders to change their first names.

The mother had named the twins, born in June 2018, after the couple separated. The pair already had two other children, now aged seven and nine.

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At the time, Judge Montague ordered the children's first names stay the same, but to substitute the father's chosen names with their middle names as a compromise.

It did not include any direction on how the twins should be addressed day-to-day.

The mother appealed the order, which then went to the High Court this year on the basis that it had long-term implications for the welfare of the children because the father could continue to call them by his preferred names when in contact with them.

High Court Judge Osborne accepted the appeal, ordering the judgment be amended by adding both parents use their first name, as named by their mother, in all interactions between the twins and organisations like government departments, schools, and medical practices .

In the judgment, the history of the couple's relationship was described as "one of entrenched dysfunction" and a "volatile dysfunctional relationship" based on evidence heard in the Family Court over the years.

It also noted elements of psychological abuse by the father towards the mother, and that his "attitudes, beliefs and unwillingness to resolve matters" were a major cause of the dysfunction.

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In 2014, the mother had obtained a temporary protection order.

The pair reconciled and had a second child before conceiving the twins but separated before they were born.

The mother gave the father an opportunity to suggest alternative names, but in the Family Court Judge Montague found he failed to do so as a result of their poor communication.

They had a defended Family Court hearing in June 2020 in relation to the care and contact arrangements of the children.

Judge A P Walsh ordered the children to be in the mother's day-to-day care and for there to be contact with the father after finding the children were being exposed to ongoing conflict between the parents ¨C including over their names.

The father continued to call the twins by his chosen names, regardless of the court's decision or the confusion it could cause them. But since 2021, the father had not been in contact with the children because he refused to see them under supervision, as ordered by the Family Court.

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Judge Osborne consequently focused the High Court hearing on the issue around naming.

Psychologist Geraldine Keith provided evidence in a report in the Family Court and found the different name use caused initial hesitation but "works in the sense that little children respond".

But she was concerned the children would carry the burden of knowing that their parents were so divided.

Keith also described the father as "a maverick in his delight in proselytising different perspectives around societal norms, be they legal or otherwise. His insight is limited as to the complications flowing from this, including for the children".

Despite concerns raised by the mother, the court found the children were not at risk of physical, sexual or psychological violence in either of the parents' care.

The father was not prepared to agree to a compromise on the name, but Judge Osborne agreed their first names should be kept because it was what was in their best interest as the 3-year-olds they were at the time.