Northern Territory Consolidated Acts

COMMUNITY WELFARE ACT - SECT 43

(1) In proceedings in relation to a child in relation to whom an application under this Part is made, the Court shall consider -

(a) the need to safeguard the welfare and development of the child;

(b) having regard to the age and comprehension of the child, the reactions of the child to the proceedings and the child's wishes in relation to the outcome of the proceedings;

(c) the importance of maintaining and promoting the relationship between the parents, guardians or persons having the custody of the child (and, where appropriate, the extended family of the child) and the child;

(d) the desirability of maintaining the continuity of living in the child's usual ethnic and social environment; and

(e) where the child is an Aboriginal - the person or persons to whom, in its opinion, custody of the child should be given should the child be found to be in need of care, having regard to the criteria imposed on the Minister by section 69.

(2) Subject to subsections (1) and (3), the Court shall only declare a child to be in need of care where it is satisfied that an order declaring the child to be in need of care would ensure that the standard of care of the child as a result of that order would be significantly higher than the standard presently maintained in respect of the child.

(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), the Court shall, in assessing the standard of care of the child, consider the social and cultural standards of the community in which the parents, guardians or persons having the custody of the child (and, where appropriate, the extended family of the child) reside or with which they maintain social and cultural ties.

(4) Subject to this section, the Court may, on the hearing of an application under this Part, make an order -

(a) declaring the child in relation to whom the application is made to be in need of care; or

(b) dismissing the application.

(5) Where the Court makes a declaration under subsection (4)(a), the order may include one of the following:

(a) a direction to the parents, guardians or persons having the custody of the child to take the necessary steps to secure the proper care and welfare of the child (including a direction that they comply with the direction, if any, of the Minister in relation to the child's care and welfare), as it thinks fit, subject to review by the Court at the end of a period not exceeding 12 months after the date of the making of the order;

(b) a direction that the child reside with a person whom it considers suitable, for such period, subject to subsection (6), not exceeding 12 months, as it thinks fit;

(c) a direction that the child be under the guardianship of the Minister and the parents, guardians or persons having the custody of the child (including a direction relating to the custody of and access to the child while under that guardianship) for such period, subject to subsection (6), not exceeding 12 months, as it thinks fit;

(d) subject to subsection (7), a direction to transfer the sole rights in relation to the guardianship of the child to the Minister or such other person, for such period, not extending beyond the eighteenth birthday of the child, as it thinks fit (including a direction relating to access of the parents, and such other persons as the court thinks fit, to the child).

(6) A period specified in an order under subsection (5)(b) or (c) may be extended from time to time, as the Court thinks fit, for further periods, each not exceeding 12 months, and not extending beyond the eighteenth birthday of the child.

(7) An order shall not be made under subsection (5)(d) unless the Court is satisfied that -

(a) no other order that it may make will adequately provide for the welfare of the child; or

(b) the parents of the child have, without reasonable excuse, failed to maintain substantial contact with the child during the period of 12 months before the application as a result of which the order is made.

(8) Where the Court makes a declaration under subsection (4)(a), the Minister shall, as soon as practicable after the order containing the declaration is made, take out the order and serve a copy, together with a statement drawing attention to the rights of persons referred to in section 48 to seek under that section a variation of the order, on each party to the application and such other person, if any, as the Court directs.