Types of grandparent care or kinship care

There are 3 main types of grandparent care or kinship care:

• informal arrangement
• informal arrangement plus a family law order
• formal arrangement with a child protection order.

Your care arrangement affects the decisions you can make about the child in your care and the financial help you can get. For example, it affects whether you can enrol the child in school or whether you can agree to a medical procedure for the child.

Informal arrangement
This is when you have an agreement with the child’s parents about caring for the child, without a court order.

In this situation, the child’s parents continue to have legal parental responsibility and the child’s parents are in charge of all major and long-term decisions about the child. Only the child’s parents can do things like legally authorise medical care, apply for passports, sign school forms and so on.

Informal arrangement plus a family law order
A family law order is a court order made by the Family Court & Federal Court of Australia.

A family law order sets out who has parental responsibility for the child, where the child lives, and how much contact the child has with their parents and other significant people.

A family law order can give you security about your caring arrangement. For example, it might say that you and the child’s parent share parental responsibility for the child, but that the child lives with you and has regular contact with their parents. It might also require the child’s school to recognise the arrangements listed in the order.

Formal arrangement with a child protection order
A child protection order is a court order made by the Court in your state or territory that rules on child protection matters. A child protection order is usually made when there’s been a report to a child protection agency about a child at risk.

A child protection order sets out who has parental responsibility for the child.

National, state and local services for carers can help you with many aspects of grandparent or kinship care, including law and money matters. You can also contact national, state and local services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship carers.

Legal issues and support for grandparent carers and kinship carers

Here are some legal issues and options that might make things easier for you as a grandparent carer or kinship carer.

Child protection court orders
Court orders can say how much time a child spends with their parents. If you feel that the current contact arrangement with parents is causing problems for the child or you, you can talk to your child protection agency about changing court orders.

Child protection decisions
If you have difficulties with a child protection agency’s decisions or actions, you can engage your own lawyer. You won’t usually have a direct say in child protection court proceedings, but a lawyer can advise you on your rights.

Informal Caregivers Statutory Declaration
In some states, if you’re a grandparent carer or kinship carer with informal arrangements (and without a family law order or child protection order), you can fill in a statutory declaration form. This is a formal record of your care arrangements. It can make it easier for you to give consent for things like school excursions, child care, health services and recreational activities. It doesn’t affect the parents’ rights.

For more information, contact the attorney general’s office, child protection agency or education department in your state or territory. You can also engage a lawyer who specialises in child protection in your state or territory.

Financial issues and support for grandparent carers and kinship carers

Here are some financial issues and options that might make things easier for you as a grandparent carer or kinship carer.

Budget
Do a family budget to keep track of the changes to your finances. Having an up-to-date budget might also be handy whenever you’re asking for financial support.

A family budget planner might help with this.

Centrelink
Find out what government payments you’re entitled to. These can include family assistance, help with the cost of child care, the Double Orphan Pension and one-off payments. For example, you might be eligible for a lump sum when you start caring for a baby or child who has recently come into your care. Some payments are means tested.

If the child has a disability or medical condition, you can ask about carer supports like the Carer Payment and the Carer Allowance.

If you’ve had to stop work, move house or make other financial changes to care for the child, you might be able to get other support from Centrelink.

Centrelink can also help you apply for a Foster Child Health Care Card. This card can help you with medical expenses – for example, bulk billing when you take the child to the doctor.

Child protection benefits
If you have the care of a child with a child protection order, the child protection agency in your state or territory might give you regular payments for everyday costs. It might also provide case management support, training and respite. If the child has additional needs, you might get higher rates of payment and help with education and health costs.

If you have informal care of a child with or without a family law order, you might be able to get a carer card, respite or other support.

Support for carers varies across states and territories.

Child support
Think about whether you want to negotiate child support from the child’s parents or be assessed for child support. These decisions will depend on your relationship with the child’s parents and your financial situation.

For information about child support, call Services Australia on 131 272.

Medicare
Call Medicare on 132 011 to add a child to your Medicare Safety Net. The Medicare Safety Net helps with high out-of-pocket costs for certain Medicare services.

For information about legal and financial support, you can call Family Relationships Online – 1800 050 321. Australian Government Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Advisers can tell you about payments, services and support in your area. You can call them on 1800 245 965. You can also contact Services Australia for advice.

Long-term legal and financial issues for grandparent carers and kinship carers

If you’ve been caring for a child for a while and you’ve already covered the basics, here are other things to think about.

Victim compensation
If the child in your care was a victim of crime or witnessed one, the child might be able to get compensation from the state or territory where the crime happened. This compensation might cover counselling support and medical expenses, as well as pain and suffering. Check the time limits for application, and keep in mind that there’s some flexibility when a child is involved.

To find out more, contact the legal aid service or justice department in your state or territory.

Your will
You might be worried about who’ll care for the child after you die. It’s a good idea to plan for this by making or changing your will.

A will is a legal document that lists who gets your money and property when you die and who cares for any children. It’s important to include the reasons why you’ve chosen a person to care for the child and why some family members get more or less of your property than others.

If a child in your care gets something from your will, think about appointing a trustee to manage what the child gets until they’re an adult. You can include instructions on how any money can be spent for the child – for example, on school fees and housing. If you don’t know who to appoint as a trustee, you can appoint the public trustee in your state or territory or contact them for advice.

If a carer dies and there’s a court order for the care of the child, the matter returns to the court where the order was made. The court then decides who cares for the child.

For information and legal advice, contact legal aid, your solicitor or the public trustee in your state or territory.

Child protection agencies in Australian states and territories

Child protection agencies are responsible for children’s safety and wellbeing. This includes looking at care and living arrangements for children who are at risk. It also includes making payments to carers of children with court protection orders.

Here are Australia’s state and territory child protection agencies:

• Australian Capital Territory – ACT Government Department of Community Services – Child and Youth Protection Services
• New South Wales – NSW Government Department of Communities and Justice – Foster, relative and kinship care
• Northern Territory – NT Government Department of Children and Families
• Queensland – Queensland Government Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety
• South Australia – SA Government Department for Child Protection
• Tasmania – Tasmanian Government Department for Education, Children and Young People
• Victoria – Victorian Government Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
• Western Australia – WA Government Department of Communities