PARENTING ORDERS IN NEW ZEALAND

If you are looking for an Auckland family lawyer to help navigate your separation, understanding parenting orders is essential. A parenting order is the formal mechanism under the Care of Children Act 2004 for settling how a child is cared for once parents separate, and it sits at the centre of most family law services in Auckland, helping mothers, fathers, and families reach workable arrangements for their children. This guide expands on our main article on child custody in New Zealand and looks specifically at how parenting orders work, who can apply for one, and what happens once an order is made.

This page is part of a wider series on New Zealand family law. Related topics are covered in the following guides:

• Best Interests of the Child
• Guardianship and Decision-Making
• Resolving Parenting Disputes
• Safety Concerns and Family Violence
• Relocation Disputes
• The Procedural Roadmap

WHAT IS A PARENTING ORDER

A parenting order is a Family Court order made under section 48 of the Care of Children Act 2004. It decides who will have day-to-day care of a child, and who will have contact with them, when parents or guardians cannot agree on these arrangements themselves. As an experienced Auckland family lawyer, I often advise clients that a private agreement is preferable wherever it is safe and workable, but a parenting order provides certainty and legal enforceability that an informal arrangement cannot.

A parenting order can cover more than simply where a child lives. It can set out shared care arrangements, holiday and special occasion schedules, drop-off and pick-up arrangements, and how a child’s relationship with wider family and whānau will be maintained. Section 5 of the Care of Children Act 2004 sets out the best interests principles that guide this, including the value of an ongoing relationship with both parents, whether that means time with a mother, a father, or both, so the court will generally aim to provide for this unless it would not be in the child’s best interests.

Where the court needs additional information before deciding, it can direct a specialist report under sections 132, 133, and 135A of the Act, for example from a social worker, psychologist, or cultural advisor who can speak to a particular aspect of the child’s circumstances. Parents will usually be asked to share the cost of such a report between them, although this can be reduced where payment would cause serious hardship, or where a parent qualifies for legal aid.

DAY-TO-DAY CARE & CONTACT

The Care of Children Act 2004 replaced the older language of custody and access with day-to-day care and contact. Day-to-day care refers to the person a child lives with and who manages their daily routine. Contact refers to the time a child spends with a parent, or another person, who does not provide day-to-day care. A parenting order can provide for these to be shared equally, weighted more toward one parent, or structured so that one parent has day-to-day care while the other has defined contact, whether that means a mother has day-to-day care and a father has contact, the reverse, or both parents sharing care between two homes. Understanding this distinction matters, because day-to-day care and contact are separate from guardianship, which concerns major decisions rather than daily living arrangements.

WHO CAN APPLY FOR A PARENTING ORDER

Section 47 of the Care of Children Act 2004 sets out who may apply for a parenting order. This includes a mother, father, or other guardian of the child, and any other person granted leave to apply by a Family Court Associate or Judge, including a member of the child’s family, whānau, or other culturally recognised family group. This means grandparents and other close family members can, in the right circumstances, apply for a parenting order, though they will usually need to satisfy the court that leave should be granted.

Where the court has concerns about a child’s safety or wellbeing, it may appoint a lawyer to represent the child under section 7 of the Act. This lawyer for the child meets with the child to understand their views and presents those views to the court, alongside advice on the child’s best interests.

In some situations, additional people become eligible to apply for an order about contact specifically. Where a parent has died, has been refused contact by the court, or is entitled to contact but is making no attempt to see the child, other people, such as grandparents or wider family, may also be treated as eligible applicants under section 47.

INTERIM AND FINAL PARENTING ORDERS

The Family Court can make an interim parenting order to put arrangements in place while a dispute is ongoing, and a final parenting order once the matter is resolved. This allows a child’s care to be settled quickly where needed, without waiting for the full process to conclude. Interim orders are commonly used where a child needs stability straight away, for example where one parent has already been providing day-to-day care and this is disputed, or where the proceedings are expected to take some time to resolve. An interim order carries the same legal weight as a final order until it is replaced, and either parent can apply to have it reviewed as the matter progresses. Separate provisions under section 50 of the Act apply to parenting orders concerning a young person aged 16 or over, reflecting their greater independence.

A parenting order generally remains in force until it is varied or discharged by the court, or until the child turns 18, whichever happens first. It is not intended to be permanent in the sense of being unchangeable, and either parent or guardian can apply to change the arrangements as a child’s circumstances and needs evolve.

HOW TO APPLY FOR A PARENTING ORDER

Before applying for a parenting order, section 46E of the Care of Children Act 2004 generally requires parents to have attempted Family Dispute Resolution, an independent mediation process governed by the Family Dispute Resolution Act 2013. If mediation does not resolve the dispute, the mediator provides a certificate confirming this, which is filed with the application. Parents are also usually expected to complete the Parenting Through Separation course before applying, unless this requirement is waived.

If agreement still cannot be reached, an application is filed with the Family Court. The court may direct counselling, hold a settlement conference, or request a specialist report to help it reach a decision. If the matter remains unresolved, it will proceed to a defended hearing, after which the court makes a final parenting order. Legal aid may be available for parents who qualify, which can significantly reduce the cost of taking a dispute to court. Throughout this process, the court’s overriding focus remains the child’s welfare and best interests, rather than either parent’s individual preferences, and this shapes how each stage of the application is approached. For a full walkthrough of this sequence, see our procedural roadmap.

VARYING, DISCHARGING & ENFORCING AN ORDER

A parenting order can be varied or discharged by the Family Court under section 56 of the Care of Children Act 2004 where circumstances have genuinely changed, such as a change in a child’s needs, a parent’s relocation, or a breakdown in an existing arrangement. The court will apply the same best interests principles to a variation application as it did to the original order.

Once made, a parenting order is legally binding, and this is one of its key advantages over an informal agreement. Enforcement is generally treated as a last resort: the Family Court will often try to resolve non-compliance through counselling or a further conference first. Where this does not work, the court has enforcement powers under sections 68 to 80 of the Act, including the ability to make a contravention order, issue a warrant requiring a child to be returned to the person entitled to day-to-day care, and, in serious cases, treat a breach as an offence. Section 77 also allows the court to make an order preventing a child from being removed from New Zealand where there is a risk this may occur without agreement.

WHEN SAFETY IS A CONCERN

Where family violence or a genuine safety risk is present, the usual process changes. Family Dispute Resolution is not required where it would be unsafe or inappropriate, and an application can be made directly to the Family Court, including without notifying the other party where urgency justifies this. A parenting order can include protective conditions, such as supervised contact or restrictions on handovers, and can operate alongside a Protection Order made under the Family Violence Act 2018.

Parenting Order FAQs