Applying for parenting orders

Parenting order applications are usually made if:

• parents cannot agree on arrangements for the children, for example, where the children will live, or who they will spend special occasions or holidays with
• the situation of the parent or the children changes and this affects existing parenting orders, for example, where one parent moves interstate (note: if you have a parenting order made on or after 1 July 2006 and you make a parenting plan later with different arrangements, the plan will have legal force over the order)
• there is an emergency and you or the children are at risk
• you need to find or return children
• you need to prevent children from being removed from your care or moved to a new location because it affects their relationship with both parents, or those important to their care.

Before you apply

Before you make an application for a parenting order you must try to sort out an agreement with your ex-partner (or other people involved).

You must include a certificate from a family dispute resolution practitioner with your application.

The certificate will say that you have either been to, or tried to go to, family dispute resolution or that in the opinion of the practitioner, it is not appropriate for you to go. There are exceptions to this.

Who can apply

Either parent can apply for parenting orders, or other relatives or people who are important in the children’s lives.

The law recognises that people other than parents, such as grandparents and extended family, may play an important role in children’s lives. For this reason, people other than the parents can apply for an order or be included in an order.

If everyone involved in the proceedings does not agree to the application for a parenting order, the court may ask for a report from a family consultant or a court child expert to discuss how the proposed arrangements for the children might work in practice. This is to help the court decide whether the order is in the children’s best interests.

Meeting with a family consultant or court child expert

Family consultants and court child experts are child psychologists and/or social workers who help and advise people in the family law courts about parenting arrangements.

They:

• may interview the parties and other important people in the children’s lives
• could be employees of the court or private practitioners who are qualified to undertake the assessment
• will probably also talk to the children, and may spend time with the children and the parties together.

Anything said to a family consultant or a court child expert is not confidential and can be ‘admitted’ (used in court) as evidence.

They will tell the court their recommendations and/or findings in the way the court asks for them.

Sometimes this may be by giving evidence in person at court and in a brief written report (a child impact report) or a family report.

Family reports or child impact reports

A family report or child impact report may be ordered by the court to help the court understand the issues in dispute and the family relationships generally. The report is not made on behalf of either parent.

The report helps the court make a decision about parenting arrangements that are in the best interests of the children. It is made by a court child expert.

This person can speak to the parents, the children, and any other people who may have relevant information about the children or the issues in the dispute.

The report may include:

• the background to the dispute
• the current relationship between the parents
• the current relationship between the parents and the children
• the children’s views
• how the children see the relationships with other adults in their life
• information on the cultural and linguistic (language) background of the children, and an opinion on how to make sure the children maintain a connection with this background
• an opinion on how to sort out the dispute.

Child impact reports are generally ordered at a relatively early stage of court proceedings. Family reports are generally prepared before the final hearing.