long-term guardian
Role / OfficeReferenced in 2 bills
Child Protection Reform Amendment Bill 2017
This bill rewrites large parts of Queensland's Child Protection Act 1999 to give children in long-term out-of-home care more stability and to strengthen cultural protections for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. It introduces a new 'permanent care order' lasting until age 18, limits successive short-term orders to two years, extends support for young people leaving care up to age 25, and simplifies how agencies share information to protect children at risk.
Adoption and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016
This bill modernises Queensland's adoption laws after a five-year statutory review. It opens adoption to same-sex couples, single people and people undergoing fertility treatment, improves access to adoption records (including information about possible birth fathers), and removes an old criminal offence for breaching pre-1991 contact statements. It also tightens the step-parent adoption process and allows in-person contact between adopted children and their birth families during interim orders.