1.1.P.19 Parenting order
Definition
For the purposes of FA and the Social Security Act 1991, the Family Law Court issues parenting orders. There are 5 types of parenting orders including:
- the allocation of parental responsibility for a child,
- an order dealing with the person or persons with whom a child will live, but does not usually allocate legal responsibility to a particular person,
- the time a child is to spend with or the communication a child is to have with another person or other persons - may include references to short term living arrangements but ongoing living arrangements are usually contained in the type of order above,
- child maintenance order - covers child support, and
- specific issues order - relates to any aspect of parental responsibility that does not fall under one of the other 3 types of parenting orders (i.e. day-to-day care, welfare, development, education, religion and legal responsibility).
It is possible for a parent to have only one, or possibly all 5, parenting orders applied to them. The content of a parenting order will vary from case to case and must be read carefully to identify the relevant information. A parenting order differs from a registered parenting plan in that it may also include other adults, in addition to a child's parents, as having responsibility or care of the child.
Act reference: Family Law Act 1975 refer to section 4(1) Interpretation and section 64B Meaning of parenting order and related terms
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Last reviewed: 6 April 2009
