Grandparents' Custody Rights in Victoria: Can Grandparents Get Parenting Orders?

Grandparents Can Apply — But the Bar Is High

Under the Family Law Act 1975, grandparents, step-parents, and other extended family members can apply to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) for parenting orders. The legislation does not restrict parenting applications to biological parents. A grandparent or any other person concerned with the care, welfare, or development of the child can apply.

In practice, this means grandparents can seek orders for the child to spend time with them, or in more serious situations, for the child to live with them. Step-parents, aunts, uncles, and other family members who have played a significant role in the child's life can do the same.

But having the right to apply does not mean the court will grant what you ask for. The child's parents are the court's starting point, and displacing or overriding parental arrangements requires strong evidence that doing so serves the child's best interests.

When Grandparents Typically Apply

The most common scenarios involve a grandparent who has been a significant caregiver (providing regular after-school care, weekend stays, or extended holiday periods) and is suddenly cut off after the parents separate, a parent who has become unable to care for the child (due to substance abuse, incarceration, mental health crisis, or abandonment) and the grandparent steps in as an alternative to foster care, a parent deliberately using the child as leverage by withholding grandparent contact to punish the other parent or their family, and situations where both parents are deceased or incapacitated and a grandparent seeks formal guardianship.

How the Court Assesses Grandparent Applications

In contested proceedings, the court applies the same Section 60CC best interests analysis that it uses for other parenting matters. The six factors — safety, child's views, developmental needs, parental capacity, significant relationships, and any other relevant circumstance — apply equally.

For grandparent applications, the "significant relationships" factor is particularly relevant. If a grandparent has had a close, ongoing relationship with the child — if the child has stayed at their house regularly, if they have been involved in school and activities, if the child clearly benefits from the relationship — the court considers whether maintaining that relationship is in the child's best interests.

However, maintaining a relationship with a grandparent is balanced against the parents' role and the child's other circumstances. The court assesses whether the contact sought is in the child's best interests under the Section 60CC factors, including safety and significant relationships.

Step-Parents and Other Family Members

Step-parents who have lived with and helped raise a child can apply for parenting orders on the same basis as grandparents. The court looks at the nature and duration of the relationship, the child's attachment to the step-parent, and whether continued contact serves the child's interests.

Other relatives — aunts, uncles, older siblings, family friends who have played a parenting role — can also apply, though the further the person is from the immediate family, the stronger the evidence needs to be that the relationship is genuinely significant to the child.

The Practical Process

Grandparents and extended family members follow the same procedural path as parents. For a contested application, the parties must generally make a genuine effort through Family Dispute Resolution with an accredited practitioner and obtain a Section 60I certificate before filing, unless a statutory exemption applies.

If FDR does not resolve the matter, you file an Initiating Application for parenting orders in the FCFCOA. Your application should detail your relationship with the child (how long, how frequent, what role you have played), explain why the orders you seek are in the child's best interests, and address any opposition from the parents.

Be aware that parenting applications by non-parents can strain family relationships further. If the dispute is between you and your own adult child about access to your grandchild, a court application may deepen that rift. FDR — either through a Family Relationship Centre or a private mediator — offers a less adversarial path.

What Grandparents Cannot Do

Grandparents cannot override a parent's day-to-day decisions about the child. Even if a court orders that a child spend time with a grandparent, the grandparent does not gain parental responsibility — they gain contact time. Major decisions about education, health, and religious upbringing remain with whoever holds parental responsibility (usually both parents, unless the court has ordered otherwise).

For a detailed understanding of how parenting orders work and who can apply, the Victoria Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide covers the full FCFCOA process including applications by extended family members.

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