What Is a Primary Carer in Family Law and Can the Status Be Challenged?

In family law, the primary carer is a term used to describe the person with whom a child spends most of their time. In parenting matters, the Court may need to assess who the primary carer is for the purpose of making parenting orders.

To make the assessment, the Court refers to the considerations set out in the Family Law Act (Cth) 1975. Primarily, these are the benefits to the child of having a meaningful relationship with both parents, along with the need to protect the child from any physical or psychological harm that may come from being subjected or exposed to abuse, neglect or family violence.

Can the primary carer be changed?

The Family Court will give consideration to changing care arrangements if it is felt to be in the best interests of the child.

Case example

In the case of Ryder & Donaldson (2018), the mother had refused requests for the father to spend time with their child. The mother had a history of anxiety and nervousness and made a number of false accusations about the father. The Court decided that, if the child continued to live with the mother, the child would be exposed to this alienation of the father and denied a relationship with him. The child was to live with the father with unsupervised time arranged with the mother with a view to enabling the child to have a meaningful relationship with both parents in the future.

Contact our Family Law Lawyers in Sydney, NSW

Szabo & Associates Solicitors are experienced in dealing in all aspects of parenting matters, including child custody, child relocation and child support. Please contact us on 02 9281 5088 or fill in the online contact form.