---
title: "Checklist: realistic possibility of restoration and the permanency plan (NSW s 83)"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/child-protection-and-care-proceedings/restoration-realistic-possibility-checklist"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a52-restoration-realistic-possibility-checklist"
area_id: "A52"
kind: "checklist"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A52-X20260927-5", "A52-X20260927-6", "A52-E20261018-5"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# Checklist: realistic possibility of restoration and the permanency plan (NSW s 83)

> Checklist for testing a permanency plan against section 83 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW), including the 6-month and 12-month decision points and the 24-month limit.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/child-protection-and-care-proceedings/restoration-realistic-possibility-checklist  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

- Kind: Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Practice area: [Child Protection & Care Proceedings](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/child-protection-and-care-proceedings.md)
- Jurisdictions: Australia, New South Wales
- AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-22
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-22 against the authority it cites, for Australia and New South Wales.

## When to use it

Use when the Secretary has filed a care application that is not an emergency care and protection order, and again before the final hearing. It tests the plan. It does not draft the parent's evidence.

## Used for these tasks

- [Test the care plan or case plan against the statutory requirements](https://ailawframework.com/practice/child-protection-and-care-proceedings/test-the-care-plan-or-case-plan-against-the-statutory-requirements.md)
- [Build the placement and order timeline against the statutory reunification clock](https://ailawframework.com/practice/child-protection-and-care-proceedings/build-the-placement-and-order-timeline-against-the-statutory-reunificati.md)
- [Identify the restoration services to request and prepare the application](https://ailawframework.com/practice/child-protection-and-care-proceedings/identify-the-restoration-services-to-request-and-prepare-the-application.md)

## How AI may be used

AI may place dates from the orders and the plan into the timeline. The lawyer decides whether the assessment and the plan meet section 83.

**AI may:**

- Calculate 6 months and 12 months from the date of the interim order the lawyer identifies, and 24 months from the date the lawyer identifies as the start of the reasonable period
- List headings in the Secretary's plan against the subsection (3A) contents list
- Extract the services named in the plan into a table with a blank for whether they have been offered

**AI must not:**

- Must not state that there is or is not a realistic possibility of restoration
- Must not write the parent's affidavit or the submissions on the assessment
- Must not describe sections 8, 9 or 83A, which were not opened for this checklist

**The lawyer checks:**

- The interim-order date used for the 6-month or 12-month period is the date parental responsibility was allocated to a person other than a parent, and the child's age on that date is correct
- A plan that says restoration is not realistic includes the reasons and the active efforts required by subsection (3A)
- The Court cannot make a final care order unless it expressly finds the matters in subsection (7), and the plan gives the particulars in subsection (7A)
- A reasonable period longer than 24 months is used only where the Secretary is satisfied of exceptional circumstances under subsection (8A)

## Authorities

- [Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW) s 83 (assessment of realistic possibility of restoration; permanency plan; Court's decision within 6 or 12 months; reasonable period not to exceed 24 months)](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/caypapa1998442/s83.html)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/child-protection-and-care-proceedings/restoration-realistic-possibility-checklist and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*