Changing parental responsibility following final orders in the NSW children's court
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Category: Section 90
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Created: Thursday, 19 January 2012 21:09
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Written by Turnbull Hill Lawyers
This article is mainly about s90(2A)(c) of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW), which provides that before granting leave to vary or rescind a Care Order, the Children's Court must take into account the length of time for which the child or young person has been in the care of his or her present carer.
In this context, a Care Order usually means a Final Order allocating parental responsibility, but may also mean an Interim Order made under s69 or s70 of the Act. The scheme of the Act favours permanency, which is demonstrated by the requirement in s83 that the Director-General prepare a "permanency plan" before the court makes a Final Order.
How would a child make an application to the children’s court?
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Category: Section 90
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Created: Sunday, 27 January 2013 12:22
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Written by Jeevani Korathota - A/Director, DoCS Legal Services
"Firstly this would depend on the child’s age. For example a child who is 12 years of age or older is assumed to have the capacity to instruct their legal representative to make an application to the Children’s Court. If the child is under 12 years of age, it may be considered that the child does not have the capacity to direct their legal representative and therefore the legal representative would not be bound by the child’s instructions.
There are different pathways that might lead to a child making a section 90 application on their own behalf, these might include but are not limited to:
- Where a Section 82 report has been ordered by the Children’s Court and the child’s legal representative is not satisfied that proper arrangements have been made for the care and protection of the child; the child’s legal representative may consult with the child and seek instructions as to whether the child wishes to file an application to withdraw or vary the current care orders.