Given the prevalence of blended families and other less
traditional (for want of a better term) family arrangements, the
concept of a nuclear family in 2015 is at best blurred and, more
likely, irrelevant. There is often confusion about how the Courts
can assist in allowing a person to have a child live with them,
spend time with them or otherwise seek a Parenting Order.
A Parenting Order is defined by the Family Law Act as an Order
that deals with arrangements for a child. These include where a
child is to live, the time a child is to spend with another person,
allocation of parental responsibility, maintenance of a child and
similar matters.
The more relevant question is who may apply for a Parenting
Order. According to Section 65C of the Family Law Act, a Parenting
Order can be applied for by a range of people including either of
the child's parents, the child itself, a grandparent or, most
vaguely, any other person concerned with the child's care,
welfare or
