A British-Australian couple will be permitted increased access to their three children following their removal from the family’s off-grid home in central Italy last year, according to the family’s lawyer.

The juvenile court in L’Aquila has authorized a phased reunification plan under the supervision of social services that may eventually allow the children to leave the residential care facility where they have been living since November 2025.

Under the court’s arrangement, Nathan Trevallion, a British national, and his Australian wife, Catherine Birmingham, will gradually spend more time with their children in a home setting. According to their lawyer, Simone Pillon, the ruling revises earlier court decisions and permits daytime visits immediately, with weekend overnight stays beginning in October.

“The ruling partially revises previous court decisions and sets out a gradual reunification process, allowing the children to return home for daytime visits immediately and, from October, for weekend overnight stays with their family,” Pillon stated.

The case, which has sparked debate across Italy over alternative lifestyles and the extent of state intervention in family matters, began drawing public attention in late 2025 when authorities inspected the family’s living conditions at a remote farmhouse in Abruzzo.

The children—a nine-year-old girl and seven-year-old twin boys—have been living in residential care since the court suspended the couple’s parental rights in a November 20 order last year. Initially, Birmingham stayed with the children until March but was later ordered to leave following new court directives based on social services recommendations.

Italian authorities became involved after all five family members were hospitalized for mushroom poisoning. Subsequent investigations described the family’s lifestyle as lacking significant social interactions, stable income, and adequate sanitary facilities. The children were reportedly homeschooled.

Social services will continue monitoring the children’s reintegration throughout the reunification process, assessing the family’s progress before any permanent reunification is considered.

The lawyer for Trevallion and Birmingham noted that the couple intends to appeal the ruling to seek a swifter and more comprehensive restoration of family unity.