Who can apply for Parenting Orders?

The class of persons who can apply for parenting orders is broad. Section 65C of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) provides that the following individuals may apply for parenting orders:

• Either of the child’s parents;
• the child;
• either of the child’s grandparents; or
• any person concerned with either the care, welfare or development of the child.

Whether a person is concerned with the care, welfare or development of a child is a question of fact to be determined in the circumstances of a given case.

Section 65C should not be interpreted so as to create a hierarchy of applicants. For example, the fact that “parent” appears before “grandparent” in the list of people who may apply for parenting orders does not signify that parents should be given greater priority than grandparents.