Checklist · Child Protection & Care Proceedings
Checklist: family law orders while a child is under a care order (Family Law Act s 69ZK)
Checklist for a parenting matter where a child is, or may be, under care under a child welfare law: the limits in section 69ZK and what must be on the file before a family law order is sought.
- Kind
- Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Where it applies
- Australia, Commonwealth, New South Wales
- AI use
- Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at
- 22 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 22 October 2026 against the authority it cites, for Australia, Commonwealth and New South Wales.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use at the start of a family law matter, and again before filing or consenting to parenting orders, if a child welfare authority is or may be involved.
Used for these tasks
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
AI may list family law orders and care orders from the documents on the file. The lawyer decides whether s 69ZK applies and whether consent is required.
AI may
- Build a table of existing parenting orders and care orders with dates and who holds parental responsibility
- Flag a proposed order that would take effect while a care order is still in force
- List whether a written consent from a child welfare officer is on the file
AI must not
- Must not state that the Family Court or the Federal Circuit and Family Court can make the order
- Must not draft the consent or the order
- Must not describe Division 7 or the definition of child welfare law, which were not opened
The lawyer checks
- Whether the child is under the care of a person under a child welfare law, using the definition in the Act, which is opened
- Any proposed order either takes effect when that care ends, or the written consent of a child welfare officer of the State or Territory was obtained for the institution or continuation of the proceedings
- The care order is not treated as overtaken by a family law order. Section 69ZK(2) preserves the child welfare jurisdiction, the care order and the child welfare law
- If a child welfare authority proposes to act, an adjournment under subsection (3) is considered
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
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The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
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