Parental Responsibility

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Parental Responsibility

What is parental responsibility?

Parental responsibility covers all the rights and duties a parent has in relation to a child, such as providing a home, protecting, and maintaining them.  

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Parental Responsibility

Getting parental responsibility

If you are not the mother of the child, you can apply to court to get parental responsibility if you are connected or related to the child. For example, if you are the child’s father, a stepparent, a grandparent, or a second female parent you may be able to get parental responsibility.    

Apply for parental responsibility

Parental responsibility for separated parents

If you have parental responsibility but you are separated, you must still include each other when making important decisions about the child’s life. If you are not able to agree on major decisions, you can apply for a court order to come to an agreement that is in the child’s best interests.   

Arrange child residency

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Frequently asked questions

The mother of a child will automatically have parental responsibility. If the father or a second female parent is married or in a civil partnership with the biological mother at the time of conception, they will also have parental responsibility.

A legal service provider can provide you guidance on how to apply for parental responsibility. This will include advice on parental responsibility agreements and applying for a court order if an agreement cannot be reached on a specific issue. 

A parent with parental responsibility who lives separately from their children still has the same rights and obligations to them and has a right to be involved in deciding what is best for their child.  

To remove parental responsibility, you must make an application to the court. It is rare, but the court can remove parental responsibility from a parent in very specific circumstances if they deem this to be the best option for the child.   

A biological mother cannot lose parental responsibility unless the child is adopted or if she is a surrogate.

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