CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2008 - SECT 18 Aspects of parental responsibility may be shared

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ACT 2008 - SECT 18

    (1)     Parental responsibility may be shared between 2 or more people under—

        (a)     a family group conference agreement; or

Note     Family group conferences are dealt with in ch 3 and ch 12.

        (b)     a voluntary care agreement; or

Note     Voluntary care agreements are dealt with in pt 12.3.

        (c)     a care and protection order including a parental responsibility provision; or

Note     Care and protection orders are dealt with in ch 14.

        (d)     a court order (under this Act or another law in force in the Territory).

Note     If parental responsibility for a child or young person is shared with the director-general, the director-general may delegate the responsibility to a responsible person for an approved kinship and foster care organisation (see  s 883A). The responsible person may subdelegate it to a position in the organisation (see  s 883B). However, the director-general must ensure that the delegated or subdelegated parental responsibility is properly exercised (see Legislation Act

, s 238).

    (2)     If parental responsibility is shared between 2 or more people, either of them may discharge the responsibility.

    (3)     This section is subject to the following sections:

        (a)     section 475 (Director-general sharing daily care responsibility);

Note     If the director-general shares daily care responsibility for a child or young person, no other person with daily care responsibility for the child or young person may discharge the responsibility in a way that would be incompatible with the director-general's discharge of the responsibility (see  s 475 (2)).

        (b)     section 504 (Director-general sharing long-term care responsibility);

Note     If the director-general shares long-term care responsibility for a child or young person and under a parental responsibility provision is required to consult with each other person who shares long-term care responsibility for the child or young person in making a decision about a long-term matter for the child or young person, and another person who has long-term care responsibility for the child or young person disagrees with the director-general's proposed decision, the person or director-general may apply to the Childrens Court for an order about the matter and the director-general is required to not make the decision without the person's agreement (see  s 504 (2)).