1. Being a guardian

Guardianship

Being a guardian

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Overview

A guardian is an adult who’s responsible for your child’s care, growth, and upbringing. Guardians have all the same legal duties, powers, rights, and responsibilities in relation to the upbringing of a child as a child’s parents. Guardianship usually ends when your child turns 18.

What being a guardian means

Being a guardian means to:

  • provide day-to-day care, unless a private parenting plan or Parenting Order says otherwise
  • give the child a safe and secure home, loving care, and attention
  • help the child develop as a person – their mental, emotional, physical, social, and cultural growth
  • make decisions about important matters affecting the child – this includes giving them a chance to say what they think or helping them to make the decision themselves.

Guardians work with anyone involved in the child’s care to make decisions about the child. This includes their:

  • day-to-day care
  • school
  • medical treatment – other than routine medical matters
  • culture, language, and religion
  • name changes, if any.

As the child gets older, guardians will make decisions more frequently with the child.

If you want day-to-day care of the child

If you’re a guardian, and you don’t already have day-to-day care, you’ll either need a private parenting agreement (sometimes called a parenting plan), or a ‘Parenting Order’.

Make a parenting plan

Apply for a Parenting Order

If you’d like day-to-day care, it might be helpful to talk to a lawyer.

Get legal advice and help

How guardianship ends

Guardianship of a child ends when:

  • your child turns 18
  • your child gets married or enters a civil union - if the child is 16 or 17, they’ll need permission from the Family Court to do this
  • your child lives with another person as a de facto partner
  • the Family Court removes a person as a guardian (including parents, testamentary guardians, and court-appointed guardians)
  • the Family Court appointed someone as a guardian for a limited time, and that time has ended
  • the Family Court appointed someone as a guardian for a specific purpose, and that purpose has been carried out.

Can’t agree on guardianship matters

Sometimes guardians can’t agree on arrangements, such as where your child will go to school. To help work out these disagreements, guardians can get help from out of court specialist services like Parenting Through Separation and Family Dispute Resolution mediation service.

Parenting Through Separation course

Family Dispute Resolution mediation service

If that doesn't work, they can apply through the Family Court for an ‘Order to Settle a Dispute between Guardians’.

Apply to Settle a Dispute between Guardians

Resources in other languages and alternate formats

We have resources available in different languages and alternate formats. Select the language or alternate format to get the resources relevant to this page.

Feeling overwhelmed?

Going through a change in your whānau situation can be hard. It's normal to feel overwhelmed. There are services available to help and support you through this time.

Visit our help page