Every child loves their grandparents, they can be relied upon to provide unconditional love and a lot of spoiling! In many families, grandparents play a significant role in a child’s life and are sometimes the child’s main caregiver while parents are busy at work. Grandparents feel strongly affectionate toward their children’s children and cherish the opportunity to be an important part of their life, it’s the natural order of things, and it’s part of the human experience.

Unfortunately, there are some situations where these elemental relationships break down, and the grandparents are pushed away by a hostile parent. It happens quite often in divorces and custody battles. The parent who wins also wins for his set of grandparents, while the other parent’s extended family is no longer welcome. Because of situations like that it is important to understand what the grandparents rights in NSW are so you can continue to visit and care for your grandchildren. The Family Law Act 1975 has provisions to grant certain rights to grandparents in relation to their grandchildren. According to the act, a grandparent is the parent of a child’s father or mother. Children have four biological grandparents who may be living or deceased, and they may also have non-biological grandparents by adoption or marriage.

So, what exactly are the rights of grandparents?

Regular Communication – The Family Law Act 1975 recognises that children have the right to maintain regular communication with those individuals who are considered to be important to their care, development, and welfare. The law specifically includes grandparents in the category of people with whom the child should be able to maintain contact. Despite this, a grandparent does not maintain the automatic right to see or care for their grandchild in the case of an estrangement or dispute, but does have the right to apply to the court for those rights.

Custody and Access – Under the Family Law Act 1975 a grandparent is entitled to make an application for a parenting order if they want to have access to, or take custody of their grandchild or grandchildren. The courts will only grant such an order if they conclude it is in the best interests of the child.

The following are cases in which it may be desirable or necessary for the grandparents to apply for access or custody of the grandchild, for example when the parent-

-is unwilling to care for the child

-is unable to care for the child

-lacks the capacity to care for the child

The court must be satisfied that the parent falls within one or more of these categories and is not able to meet the needs of their child or children.

In cases where there is evidence of neglect, physical or emotional abuse, or substance abuse, the court is more likely to grant an order that favours the grandparent. The order might give the grandparent full custody of the child, or they might have to share custody with the parent.

The most important thing in all of this is always the child’s best interests, and in general, having the love and support of their grandparents counts toward that.