CHILDREN ACT 1989

The courts will determine the welfare of the child. This includes the upbringing of the child and administration of the child’s property or any income arising from it. The child’s welfare should be the court’s paramount consideration.

The act covers parental responsibility for children and defines parental responsibility. This means all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which, by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and their property.

The act sets out how parental responsibility may be acquired by the father in the situation where the father and mother were not married.

An application may be made to the court in respect of the child, and to appoint an individual to be the child’s guardian.

The act defines residential contact and other orders in respect of children.