For the purposes of this Act, guardianship of a child means having (and therefore a guardian of the child has), in relation to the child,—

The duties, powers, rights, and responsibilities of a guardian of a child include (without limitation) the guardian’s—

Important matters affecting the child include (without limitation)—

A guardian of a child may exercise (or continue to exercise) the duties, powers, rights, and responsibilities of a guardian in relation to the child, whether or not the child lives with the guardian, unless a court order provides otherwise.

Court order means a court order made under any enactment; and includes, without limitation, a court order that is made under this Act and embodies some or all of the terms of an agreement to which section 40(2) or section 41(2) applies.

However, in exercising (or continuing to exercise) the duties, powers, rights, and responsibilities of a guardian in relation to a child, a guardian of the child must act jointly (in particular, by consulting wherever practicable with the aim of securing agreement) with any other guardians of the child.

Subsection (5) does not apply to the exclusive responsibility for the child’s day-to-day living arrangements of a guardian exercising the role of providing day-to-day care.

The father and the mother of a child are guardians jointly of the child unless the child’s mother is the sole guardian of the child because of subsection (2) or subsection (3).

If a child is conceived on or after the commencement of this Act, the child’s mother is the sole guardian of the child if the mother was neither—

If a child is conceived before the commencement of this Act, the child’s mother is the sole guardian of the child if the mother was neither—

For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), the mother and father of a child may be in a de facto relationship even if—

On the death of the father or the mother, the surviving parent, if he or she was then a guardian of the child, is the sole guardian of the child.

This section is subject to sections 18 to 34, and therefore does not limit or affect the appointment of 1 or more additional guardians (for example, an additional testamentary guardian of the child appointed by the deceased parent under section 26(2)) or an order (relating to guardianship of the court) under section 33(1).

A child’s father who is not a guardian of the child just because of section 17(2) or (3) becomes a guardian of the child if his particulars are registered after the commencement of this section as part of the child’s birth information because he and the child’s mother both notified the birth as required by section 12 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021.

Subsection (1) does not change the guardianship status of a father who became a guardian before the commencement of this section.

If, because of section 17(2) or (3), a child’s mother is (or was at the time of her death) the sole guardian of the child, the child’s father may apply to the court to be appointed as a guardian of the child.

The father may apply to be appointed—

An application under subsection (2)(b) must include an application under section 29 for an order depriving the mother of the guardianship of her child or (as the case requires) removing the testamentary guardian from office.

In response to an application under subsection (2), the court—

A man who alleges that he is a guardian of a child because of section 17 (other than because of an order under section 19) may apply to the court for an order declaring that the man is a guardian of the child because of section 17.

The court may make the order if satisfied that the man—

The Declaratory Judgments Act 1908 applies, with all necessary modifications, to applications under subsection (1).

In this section, appointment means an appointment of an eligible spouse or partner of a parent as an additional guardian of a child under section 23.

If both parents of the child are guardians of the child, the appointment must be made by both of them.

If the mother of the child is the sole guardian of the child just because of section 17(2) or (3), the appointment must be made by the mother and the father of the child.

If a parent of the child is the sole guardian of the child because the other parent of the child is dead, or because of the application of Part 2 of the Status of Children Act 1969, the appointment must be made by the parent.

If, before dying, a parent of the child appointed a testamentary guardian of the child under section 26(1), and the other parent of the child is alive and is a guardian of the child jointly with the testamentary guardian, the appointment must be made by the surviving parent and the testamentary guardian.

No appointment of an additional guardian of a child may be made under section 23 if the child—

No appointment of an additional guardian of a child may be made under section 23 if a parent authorised by section 21 to make the appointment—

No appointment of an additional guardian of a child may be made under section 23 unless the child, or a parent of the child, is either a New Zealand citizen or a person who is ordinarily resident in New Zealand.

No appointment of an additional guardian of a child may be made under section 23 if any of the statutory declarations required by section 23(5) cannot be made in the affirmative.

An appointment of an additional guardian under section 23 is void if the proposed additional guardian is disqualified under section 23(2)(d), even though the relevant statutory declarations under section 24(d)(i) were all made in the affirmative.

An eligible spouse or partner of a parent may be appointed as an additional guardian of a child under this section by the following person or persons, but only if that person is, or those persons are, authorised by section 21 to make the appointment:

A spouse or partner of a parent is an eligible spouse or partner of a parent in relation to a parent of a child and an appointment under this section only if the parent is making the appointment (either alone, or with the other parent, or a guardian, of the child) and the spouse or partner—

Child pornography publication means a publication that is objectionable (as those terms are defined in section 2 of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993)—

The appointment may be made only if each person making the appointment and the proposed additional guardian—

The appointment must be in a form approved by the Secretary (which must include the agreements in writing referred to in subsection (4)(b)), and must be accompanied by—

Criminal record means a document giving all details recorded in law enforcement information held by or on behalf of the Ministry of Justice of every criminal conviction (if any) of the proposed additional guardian (whether a conviction in New Zealand or overseas).

If the proposed additional guardian is an eligible individual (as defined in section 4 of the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004), then for the purposes of section 19(3)(e) of that Act (exceptions to general effect of clean slate scheme) the appointment is an application the proposed additional guardian has made to act in a role predominantly involving the care and protection of, but not predominantly involving the delivery of education to, the child.

The declarations required by section 23(5)(a) are statutory declarations by every person making the appointment and by the proposed additional guardian declaring—

An appointment under section 23 takes effect only on a Registrar of the Family Court approving the form and declarations referred to in section 23(5).

The Registrar must not approve those documents unless, having made all reasonable inquiries, he or she is satisfied—

Nothing in this section requires the Registrar to inquire into details of a conviction in the proposed additional guardian’s criminal record.

Family Court case-management system means the system for the time being used by the Ministry of Justice to manage, maintain, and access Family Court case records.

The parent of a child may by deed or will (executed before or after the child’s birth) appoint a person to be a testamentary guardian of the child after the parent’s death.

If, at the time of his or her death, the parent appointing a guardian under subsection (1) is a guardian of the child, the testamentary guardian is from that time, if he or she is 20 years of age or older, either sole guardian or a guardian in addition to any other guardian, as the case may be.

If, at the time of his or her death, the parent appointing a guardian under subsection (1) is not a guardian of the child, the testamentary guardian may apply to the court, and the court may, if it thinks fit, appoint him or her as a guardian accordingly.

Despite any enactment or rule of law, a person under the age of 18 years may make an appointment under subsection (1).

Despite section 16(1), no testamentary guardian of a child has, just because of an appointment under this section, the role of providing day-to-day care for the child.

The court may appoint a person as a guardian of a child, either in addition to any other guardian or as sole guardian, either—

The court may appoint the person as a guardian of the child—

However, only the High Court may appoint or remove a litigation guardian for proceedings before the High Court or a court higher than that court, but the High Court may also appoint or remove a litigation guardian for proceedings that are not before the High Court or a court higher than that court.

The duties, powers, rights, and responsibilities of a guardian of a child end when the first of the following events occurs:

However, nothing in this section affects the appointment of, or the High Court’s powers in respect of, a litigation guardian.

On an application for the purpose by an eligible person, the court may make—

In this section, eligible person, in relation to a child, means any of the following persons:

An order under subsection (1)(a) (that is, an order depriving a parent of the guardianship of his or her child) must not be made unless the court is satisfied—

An order under subsection (1)(b) or (c) must not be made unless the court is satisfied that the order will serve the welfare and best interests of the child.

On making an order under subsection (1), the court may also make on its own initiative an order under section 27.

The court may, on application, revoke the appointment under section 27 of a person as a guardian of a child or young person if—

If the court revokes an appointment under this section, it must discharge, under section 56, the associated parenting order under section 48 that confers on the person the role of providing day-to-day care for the child and any associated parenting order that provides for any specified person to have contact with the child.

The following courts have jurisdiction under section 31:

The Family Court does not have jurisdiction under section 31 if—

The High Court may order proceedings to be removed to the Family Court if—

The High Court must order proceedings to be removed to the High Court if—

Proceedings removed to the High Court continue in that court as if they had been properly commenced there.

An eligible person may make an application to a court with jurisdiction under this section for—

In this section, eligible person, in relation to a child, means any of the following persons:

This section applies when—

When this section applies,—

Subsection (2) does not apply if the court considers that the delay that would be caused by giving notice would or might entail serious injury or undue hardship to the child.

If this section applies and the court makes an interim order without giving notice to the chief executive,—

A court to which an application is made under section 31 may—

An order under subsection (1) in respect of a child ceases to have effect when the first of the following events occurs:

A court to which an application is made under section 31 has the rights and powers specified in subsection (2)—

The court has the same rights and powers in respect of the person and property of the child as the High Court had in relation to wards of court immediately before the commencement, on 1 January 1970, of the Guardianship Act 1968, except that the court may not—

The High Court has all the powers of the Family Court in relation to who has the role of providing day-to-day care for, or contact with, a child who is the subject of an application under section 31 or an order under section 33. An order of the High Court about providing day-to-day care for, or contact with, any child of that kind may be enforced under this Act as if it were an order of the Family Court.

This section applies to a court if it is the Family Court or the High Court hearing or otherwise dealing with proceedings under section 31.

The court may, before or by or after the principal order, make any interim or final order it thinks fit about the role of providing day-to-day care for, or about contact with, or about the upbringing of, a child who is the subject of the proceedings.

Section 50 applies with all necessary modifications to an order under subsection (2), and an order of that kind may be subject to any terms or conditions the court thinks fit.

The court may, if in all the circumstances it thinks it appropriate to do so, make an order vesting the sole guardianship of the child in 1 of the parents, or make any other order with respect to the guardianship of the child that it thinks fit. However, if the court makes no order with respect to the guardianship of the child, every person who was a guardian of the child continues to be a guardian of the child.

An order may be made under this section, and an order made under this section may be varied or discharged, even though the court has refused to make the principal order or to give any other relief sought.

A consent, or refusal to consent, to any of the following, if given by a child of or over the age of 16 years, has effect as if the child were of full age:

A child’s consent, or refusal to consent, to any donation of blood, or to any medical, surgical, or dental treatment or procedure (including a blood transfusion), whether to be carried out on the child or on any other person, has the same effect as if the child were of full age if the child is or has been—

If the consent of any other person to any medical, surgical, or dental treatment or procedure (including a blood transfusion) to be carried out on a child is necessary or sufficient, consent may be given—

If a child has been lawfully placed for the purpose of adoption in the home of any person, then, for the purposes of subsection (3), that person must be treated as a guardian of the child.

Nothing in this section affects an enactment or rule of law by or under which, in any circumstances,—

Except to the extent that this section enables a blood transfusion to be administered to a child without the consent of any other person, nothing in this section affects section 37.

Subsection (1) is subject to subsection (6).

In this section and section 36,—

Except by leave of a Judge of the High Court, no civil, criminal, or disciplinary proceedings may be brought against a person in respect of the administration by a health practitioner of any blood transfusion to a person under the age of 18 years (in this section called the patient) by reason of the lack of consent of a person whose consent is required by law.

The Judge must not grant leave if the Judge is satisfied—

In considering the reasonableness of the opinion of the health practitioner referred to in subsection (3)(a), the Judge must take into account the following:

Nothing in this section affects any enactment or rule of law relating, in respect of the performance of any operation,—

If given by a female child (of whatever age), the following have the same effect as if she were of full age:

This section overrides section 36.

The purpose of sections 40 to 43 is to encourage parents, guardians, and donors to agree to their own arrangements for the child’s care, development, and upbringing.

A party to an agreement to which subsection (2) applies may seek to have the terms of the agreement embodied in an order of the court that may be enforced, as provided in subsections (3) and (4).

This subsection applies to an agreement between parents or guardians of a child so far as it relates to when 1 or more specified persons have the role of providing day-to-day care for the child or have contact with the child, or to the upbringing of the child, or to any combination of those matters.

An agreement to which subsection (2) applies cannot be enforced under this Act, but some or all of the terms of the agreement may be embodied in an order of the court if, under 1 or more provisions of this Act other than this section (for example, under section 48(1)),—

The order may be enforced under this Act in the same way as an order that does not embody terms of an agreement to which subsection (2) applies.

A party to an agreement to which subsection (2) applies—

This subsection applies to an agreement between the parents of a child and a donor or donors so far as it relates to contact between the donor or donors and the child, or to the role of the donor or donors in the upbringing of the child, or to both.

An agreement to which subsection (2) applies cannot be enforced under this Act, but, on an application for the purpose by a party to it, the court may, with the consent of all parties to it, make an order of the court that embodies some or all of the terms of the agreement.

An order under subsection (3) may, so far as it relates to contact with the child, be enforced under this Act as if it were a parenting order relating to contact.

Any of the parties to an agreement to which subsection (2) applies may apply to the court for its direction if those parties are unable to agree on a matter—

On an application under subsection (5), the court may make any order relating to the matter that it thinks proper.

In this section and section 41,—

Sections 40(2) and 41(2) apply to an agreement even though some or all of the parties to it are minors.

A child aged 16 or 17 who wishes to obtain consent for his or her de facto relationship must make an application to the Family Court for the consent of a Family Court Judge.

A Family Court Judge may, on an application of a child made under subsection (1), consent to the de facto relationship only if the Judge is satisfied that—

In determining whether the de facto relationship is in the child’s interests, the matters that the Judge must take into account include, without limitation,—

This section applies to a child who does not have a guardian because guardianship of the child has ended under section 28(1).

If an enactment requires that the child obtains the consent of 1 or more guardians for a particular purpose, the child may—

When an application is made under subsection (2)(b), a Family Court Judge may, if he or she considers that giving the consent is reasonable in all the circumstances, give the consent required.

A consent given to a child for a purpose referred to in subsection (2), either by the child’s former guardians or by a Family Court Judge under subsection (3), has the same effect as if it had been given by all the people whose consent was required for that purpose.

A child of or over the age of 16 years who is affected by a decision or by a refusal of consent by a parent or guardian in an important matter may (unless the child is under the guardianship of the court) apply to a Family Court Judge, who may, if he or she thinks it reasonable in all the circumstances to do so, review the decision or refusal and make any order in respect of it that he or she thinks fit.

A consent given by a Family Court Judge under this section has the same effect as if it had been given by the parent or guardian.

In sections 46E and 46F, family dispute resolution, family dispute resolution form, and FDR provider have the meanings given to them by the Family Dispute Resolution Act 2013.

This section applies to an application under section 46R or 48.

The application must be accompanied by a family dispute resolution form that has been signed by an FDR provider within the preceding 12 months.

Subsection (2) does not apply if subsection (4) applies.

A family dispute resolution form is not required to accompany an application that—

A Registrar may refuse to accept for filing an application that is accompanied by an affidavit of the kind referred to in subsection (4)(f) if the affidavit does not provide sufficient evidence of either of the matters set out in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of that paragraph.

A Registrar who is unsure, under subsection (5), whether to refuse to accept an application for filing may refer the application and accompanying affidavit to a Family Court Associate or Family Court Judge, and the Family Court Associate or Judge must determine whether the affidavit provides sufficient evidence of either of the matters set out in subsection (4)(f).

This section applies after an application has been made to the Family Court for—

At any time before the application is finally determined, a Family Court Associate or Family Court Judge may direct the parties to attend family dispute resolution.

A direction under subsection (2) may only be made by a Family Court Associate or Judge if—

A direction under subsection (2) may be made only once.

This section applies after an application has been made to the Family Court for—

A Family Court Judge may direct the Registrar of the court to refer the parties to the application to counselling services, or a Family Court Associate may refer the parties to the application to counselling services, for either or both of the following purposes:

A direction or referral under subsection (2) may only be made if the Family Court Judge or Family Court Associate considers that the provision of counselling services is the best means of assisting the parties with their relationship or the implementation of any decision of the court, or with both of those matters.

A direction or referral under subsection (2) may be made—

On receipt of a direction under subsection (2), the Registrar must—

The Secretary may, by notice in the Gazette, approve any organisation (whether incorporated or unincorporated) as an approved counselling organisation.

In deciding whether to approve an organisation under subsection (1), the Secretary must apply any criteria prescribed by regulations made under section 147(2)(aa).

An approval under subsection (1) may be made on any terms and conditions the Secretary thinks fit.

The Secretary may, by notice in the Gazette, suspend or cancel the approval of an organisation as an approved counselling organisation on any ground prescribed by regulations made under section 147(2)(ab).

If under subsection (1) the Secretary suspends the approval of an organisation, the organisation is not an approved counselling organisation during the period for which the approval is suspended.

An approved counselling organisation to which any parties are referred under section 46G(5)(a) must—

The Secretary or an approved counselling organisation may appoint a person as a counsellor if the Secretary or approved counselling organisation is satisfied that the person is qualified and competent to provide counselling services.

In deciding whether a person meets the criteria in subsection (1), the Secretary or approved counselling organisation must apply the qualification and competency requirements prescribed by regulations made under section 147(2)(ac) and (ad).

This section applies to a statement a party makes to a counsellor for the purpose of enabling the counsellor to provide counselling services.

No evidence of the statement is admissible in any court or before any person acting judicially.

A counsellor commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $500 who discloses to any other person a statement made to the counsellor for the purpose of enabling the counsellor to provide counselling services.

The maximum number of sessions of counselling to be carried out under section 46G must be determined in accordance with regulations made under section 147(2)(ae) or, if no such regulations are made, by the Registrar of the court.

Fees in respect of counselling carried out under section 46G, and reasonable expenses incurred, must—

At any time after an application has been made to the court for a parenting order under section 48, a Family Court Associate or Family Court Judge may direct 1 or more parties to the application to attend a parenting information programme.

However, a direction may not be made under subsection (1) in respect of a party if that party has undertaken a parenting information programme within the preceding 2 years.

The purpose of a settlement conference is to enable a Family Court Associate or Family Court Judge to—

At any time before the hearing of a proceeding,—

However, a settlement conference may be convened under subsection (1) on 1 occasion only, but may be adjourned at any time and to any place.

At a settlement conference, a Family Court Associate or Family Court Judge may, with the consent of the parties, make an order settling some or all of the issues in dispute between the parties.

Before a party consents to the making of an order, a Family Court Associate or Family Court Judge may advise that party to obtain legal advice.