Permanent care options

Become a guardian

A guardian has full care and legal responsibility for a child or young person in their care, including making decisions about their health and education, as well as managing, and where required, a child’s contact with their parents, family and important people in their life.

Who can apply to become a guardian

Who can express interest in becoming a guardian?

The request could come from:

• a relative or kinship carer who has been assessed for an emergency placement, authorised as a carer and has had the child or young person in their care for significant period of time
• an authorised Department of Family and Community Services or out-of-home care agency carer who has had the child or young person in their care for a significant period of time and is interested in exploring the option of becoming a guardian
• a person who has an established and positive relationship with the child or young person, but who has not previously been assessed as a carer.

Who can become a guardian?

A guardian can be a relative or kinship carer or another suitable person. There is no legal definition of who may be a suitable person. As a guide, this could include a family friend or an authorised carer who has an established and positive relationship with the child and young person and who is willing and able to take care of the child or young person until they are at least 18 years of age.

For Aboriginal children and young people, guardians who are not relatives or kin should be Aboriginal people in order to be considered ‘suitable persons’. For example, Aboriginal guardians assessed as ‘suitable persons’ may include a member of the Aboriginal community to which the child or young person belongs. Guardians must be able to demonstrate their ability to keep children connected to family, culture and country.

Further information

For more information you can contact your local Community Services Centre or visit the Permanency Support Program information on the DCJ website. 

You can also call the DCJ guardianship information line on 1300 956 416.

Alternatively contact:

• My Forever Family NSW at enquiries@myforeverfamily.org.au or 1300 782 975
• The Aboriginal Child, Family & Community Care State Secretariat (NSW) Inc. (AbSec) Foster Care Support Line 1800 888 698.

What to expect as a guardian

What are guardianship orders?

Guardianship orders aim to provide greater stability for children and young people when the Children’s Court makes a decision they cannot live with their parents.

Guardianship orders are a way of helping ensure a child or young person has a more stable, nurturing and safe home until they are at least 18 years of age, without cutting legal ties to their family.

Under a guardianship order, a child or young person is not in foster care or out-of-home care but in the independent care of their guardian.

Guardianship orders can only be made on a final and long-term basis, that is until the child or young person reaches 18 years of age. The only other orders that can be made in conjunction with a guardianship order are an order for contact, and an order prohibiting action. However, a contact order cannot be made if DCJ or an agency is required to coordinate or provide supervision of contact with birth parents or other relatives. An example of a prohibition order would be an order prohibiting a parent from going to a child’s school.

What does a guardianship order mean for a child or young person?

If a guardianship order is made, the child or young person will be cared for by their guardian until they turn at least 18 years of age, or the Children’s Court changes the order.

The child or young person will still have contact with their parents, family and important people in their life, as outlined in their care or case plan or court orders. It is important that every child and young person has opportunities to learn about their family heritage, even if they do not have contact with their family. This enables them to have a strong and healthy sense of self and identity.

If the child or young person is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, or from a different cultural background to their guardian, they have the right to maintain connections with their culture and community and have a cultural support plan in place. The guardian must ensure the child or young person’s cultural needs are met and encourage and facilitate their participation in cultural activities and events.

How will my guardianship application be assessed?

This will depend on whether the applicant has been previously assessed as an authorised carer, the type of assessment and when the assessment was completed.

The caseworker will talk with the prospective guardian about the assessment process before the assessment begins.

What are the criteria for becoming a guardian for a child or young person?

The applicant’s suitability for becoming a guardian will be assessed on the following criteria:

• successful outcomes from completed suitability checks for applicants and household members
• medical evidence confirms they have the physical and mental health to care for the child young person until that are at least 18 years of age
• personal references from two people who can comment on the suitability of the prospective applicant to care for a child or young person.

The applicant/s will also need to demonstrate they have:

• the ability to independently meet the long term needs of the child or young person without the case management and supervision from FACS or an out of home care agency. (This includes demonstrating they have a network of family and friends who can provide support and the capacity to meet the needs of the child or young person with limited financial support).
• an established and positive relationship with the child or young person and an understanding that the needs of the child or young person will change over time
• an understanding of the child or young person’s trauma experience, and how they will manage its potential impact on the child’s longer term development
• the capacity to understand the child or young person’s identity and their role in supporting the child or young person through Life Story work
• the capacity to meet the child or young person’s ongoing cultural needs
• the capacity to establish and maintain a safe and respectful approach with the child or young person’s parents, siblings and significant others
• the capacity and willingness to arrange, coordinate and, where required, supervise safe contact with the child or young person’s family and ability to negotiate through difficulties that may emerge
• they have adequate and safe accommodation for a child.

Become an adoptive parent

If you’re considering adopting the child in your care you can discuss your eligibility with the child’s caseworker. The possibility of adoption being suitable for the child will depend upon a number of factors that will be unique to each child.

Who is required to give consent?

For children under the Parental Responsibility of the Minister, individual family circumstances will determine whose consent is required.

The consent of the birth parents and the Minister is required when:

• the child is under 12 years of age, or
• the child or young person is aged between 12 and 18 and has been in the care of the prospective adoptive parents for less than two years, or
• the child or young person is aged between 12 and 18 and is deemed to not have sufficient maturity to give consent.

The Supreme Court can make orders dispensing with the consent of the parents in certain circumstances such as when the birth parent cannot be found or is mentally incapable of consenting. The court can also make an order to dispense with parental consent when it believes it is in the best interests of the child.

The consent of the child is required if the child is aged 12 years or over and is deemed to have sufficient maturity to give consent. It is important that a child thinking about consenting to their own adoption is not subjected to any pressure to give consent, or to not give consent.

What is an Adoption Plan?

An Adoption Plan is an agreement about post-adoption contact between the parents, the child or young person and carers. It also includes how the child’s knowledge of their culture and identity will be supported. Plans are made to suit the needs and best interests of the child.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective

In Aboriginal communities, the responsibility of raising children is often seen as the responsibility of the entire family rather than the biological parents alone. Adoption was not necessary and was an unknown practice in traditional Aboriginal culture. Today, the Aboriginal Placement Principle and Aboriginal consultation requirements seek to protect future generations of Aboriginal children from the devastating effects of past practices that separated children from their families, communities and culture.

The NSW Adoption Act 2000 makes it clear that adoption of an Aboriginal child is not to occur unless the Court is satisfied that an adoption order is preferable, and in the child’s best interests, to any other order which could be taken by law. Aboriginal people should participate with as much self-determination as possible in decisions relating to the placement of Aboriginal children for adoption.

Financial support for adoptive carers

Adoptive parents who adopt a child from out-of-home care may be eligible for financial support from the government. Under a NSW Government initiative announced in 2014, eligible adoptive parents will receive the OOHC Adoption Annual Payment and the Adoption Transition Support Payment.

The OOHC Adoption Annual Payment

The OOHC Adoption Annual Payment is an annual payment for new adoptive parents who adopt a child or young person in out-of-home care. It is paid to the adoptive parents annually from the time the final adoption order is made to the time the child turns 18.

The Adoption Transition Support Payment

The Adoption Transition Support Payment is a one-off payment in addition to the OOHC Adoption Annual Payment, paid in the first year and is intended to further assist families in meeting costs likely to arise in the first years after the adoption.

The Out-of-home Care Adoption Allowance

The out-of-home care adoption allowance acknowledges the higher cost associated with children in out-of-home care who require ongoing support to meet their educational, social, physical and emotional needs. Adoptive parents are eligible if the adoption order was made on or after 1 July 2017, reside in NSW and are eligible to receive all or part of Family Tax Benefit Part A.

Payments under previous policies

Adoptive families who receive a continuing allowance under previous policies are not eligible for this assistance. Instead, they will continue to receive either the OOHC Adoption Allowance or the Post-Adoption Allowance according to their circumstances.

Other support for adoptive carers

DCJ or your agency may also be able to help with:

• post-adoption contact arrangements as agreed in the Adoption Plan
• negotiating changes to the Adoption Plan if necessary
• referrals to specialist counsellors or support groups.

When carers are considering adoption of a child with a disability, the agency and DCJ will work closely with families, carers, Ageing, Disability and Home Care and/or the National Disability Insurance Agency to provide priority support. Adoptive carers may be eligible for a range of services and financial supports available to assist with raising a child with a disability.