Parental rights in Queensland cover responsibilities, decision-making, and time spent with a child after separation or divorce. Here’s what parents need to understand about parental decision-making responsibility, parenting arrangements, and child support. Parental rights encompass a broad spectrum of responsibilities and entitlements that parents hold concerning their children. These rights are legally defined and play a crucial role in ensuring the well-being and upbringing of children following parental separation or divorce. Understanding parental decision-making responsibility, parenting arrangements, and child support is essential for both parents to navigate this challenging terrain effectively.
If you’ve only just separated, our guide to what happens after you separate is a good place to start before working through parenting arrangements in detail.
Parental Decision-Making Responsibility
Parental responsibility/Parental decision-making means all the duties, powers, responsibilities and authority that parents have, by law, in relation to their children. In practical terms, it is about who makes the important decisions in a child’s life — not about how much time the child spends with each parent or what a child is fed. Those are two separate questions, and it is common for parents to be surprised by that.
Each parent has parental responsibility for their child until the child turns 18. This is held by each parent individually — it is not a joint or shared responsibility unless a court orders that it be exercised jointly. Separation, divorce, or never having been in a relationship makes no difference to this. It changes only if a court makes an order altering it.
Major long-term issues
The law draws a distinction between everyday decisions and what it calls “major long-term issues”. Major long-term issues include:
- the child’s education, both current and future;
- the child’s religious and cultural upbringing;
- the child’s health;
- the child’s name; and
- changes to the child’s living arrangements that would make it significantly more difficult for the child to spend time with a parent — for example, one parent relocating interstate.
Day-to-day decisions are different. If a child is spending time with you — what they eat, what they wear, their bedtime, whether they go to a friend’s birthday party — you do not need to consult the other parent about those things.
Joint decision-making
Where a court order provides for joint decision-making about major long-term issues, both parents must genuinely consult one another and make a real effort to reach a joint decision. That means more than sending a text advising the other parent of a decision you have already made.
Importantly, since 6 May 2024 there is no longer a presumption that parents should have equal shared parental responsibility. That presumption was removed from the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). The Court now decides what decision-making arrangement is in the child’s best interests in each individual case, without starting from any assumption. In some families that will mean joint decision-making; in others, particularly where there has been family violence or where the parents simply cannot communicate, the Court may order that one parent has sole decision-making responsibility, either generally or for a specific issue such as medical treatment or schooling.
Relationships with grandparents and other significant people in a child’s life matter too, so see our guide to grandparents’ rights in family law.
Parenting Arrangements
Parenting arrangements, sometimes referred to as visitation or access (though these terms are no longer used under Australian law), set out how much time a child spends with each parent following separation or divorce. These arrangements are typically outlined in a parenting plan or court-ordered parenting orders, based on the child’s best interests.
Parenting arrangements aim to ensure that children maintain meaningful relationships with both parents, even if they no longer live together. The specifics can vary widely depending on the circumstances of the family, including the child’s age and needs, the parents’ schedules, and the nature of the relationship between the parents.
Arrangements often need revisiting as circumstances change. Our guides to parenting arrangements during school holidays and relocation disputes cover two of the most common flashpoints.
Child Support
Child support is financial assistance provided by one parent to the other to help cover the costs of raising a child. In Australia, child support is governed by the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 and administered by Services Australia.
The amount of child support payable is determined based on various factors, including each parent’s income, the cost of raising the child, and the amount of time the child spends with each parent. Child support payments are intended to ensure that both parents contribute financially to the child’s upbringing in a fair and equitable manner.
Parents can reach a private agreement on child support payments or opt for a formal assessment through Services Australia. Some parents prefer a Binding Child Support Agreement instead, which offers more certainty than a standard assessment. Regardless of the arrangement, both parents have a legal obligation to financially support their children, and failure to meet this obligation can have legal consequences.
Seeking Legal Advice
Navigating parental decision-making responsibility, parenting arrangements, and child support can be complex, particularly in the context of separation or divorce. Seeking legal advice from a family law professional is advisable to ensure that your rights and obligations are fully understood and protected.
Our family law solicitors can provide guidance on developing parenting plans, negotiating parenting arrangements, calculating child support payments, and resolving disputes that may arise between parents. With their expertise, you can navigate the challenges of co-parenting following separation or divorce while prioritising the best interests of your children. If you’re newly separated, our guide to dating before your divorce is final covers how a new relationship can affect these arrangements.
Conclusion
Parental rights encompass a range of responsibilities and entitlements aimed at promoting the well-being and upbringing of children. Understanding parental decision-making responsibility, parenting arrangements, and child support is essential for parents navigating separation or divorce. By seeking legal advice and working collaboratively with the other parent, you can develop effective co-parenting arrangements that prioritise the best interests of your children and promote their healthy development.
Call us on 1300 334 566 or email info@bcglaw.com.au and safeguard your interests every step of the way. We are your legal problem solvers.
