In Brief
This case involved a custody dispute between separated parents of an 8-year-old girl, Saesha. The father had retained de facto custody since the mother was separated from him in 2010 when Saesha was 21 months old. The High Court awarded custody to the mother, but the father's appeal stayed that order. The Supreme Court held that while the child expressed a preference for the father, she had been deprived of maternal contact and could not fairly assess her own interests. The Court awarded the mother custody for one academic year to allow the child to experience maternal care on a level playing field, considering the child's best interests and the mother's primary caregiving role during infancy.
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