In Australia, as elsewhere, not a great deal is known about the 'nuts and bolts' of parent-child contact after separation. This report, edited by Bruce Smyth, uses information gained from a series of focus groups and the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey to identify patterns of parenting after separation and factors that facilitate or impede contact, particularly contact between fathers and their children, and how these factors interact to influence different patterns and levels of care.