Children’s Code Act, 2022

This Act may be cited as the Children’s Code Act, 2022.

This section defines many terms used in the Act.

A child's best interest must be treated as the main concern in matters about the child.

In matters relating to children, the listed principles must be applied, including best interests, life and development, non-discrimination, and respecting children’s participation and views.

A child has an inherent right to life, dignity, and respect, and the State and family must ensure the child’s survival and development.

A child capable of forming their own views has the right to be informed and to express an opinion in decisions or procedures affecting them.

A person must not discriminate against or punish a child because of protected characteristics, including the child’s own characteristics or those of the child’s parent or caregiver.

A child has rights to a name and nationality from birth, to establish biological parentage where practicable and in the child’s best interest, and must be registered after birth. The State must provide appropriate assistance if a child is deprived of identity.

A child has a right to live with and be cared for by the child’s parents, or to get appropriate alternative care if separated. The Ministry responsible for child welfare must support regular contact with a separated parent unless that would not be in the child’s best interests, and the State must help reunite a child with family when separation happened without court leave.

A child has a right to education, including religious education, and the State and parents must ensure the child is educated.

A child is entitled to health and medical care.

A child is entitled to social protection and social services.

A person must not subject a child to economic exploitation or hazardous work, or work likely to harm the child’s education or development.

Children must not take part in hostilities or be recruited into armed conflict, and the State must provide support and rehabilitation for child victims of armed conflict.

A child with a disability has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.

A child on the move is entitled to appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance.

A child is entitled to protection from maltreatment and other exploitation. The Minister must issue guidelines and measures for child protection programmes.

A person must not subject a girl child to female genital mutilation or a child to child marriage, or to harmful cultural, religious, or traditional practices.

A person must not subject a child to sexual abuse or exploitation, use a child in prostitution, coerce or induce a child into sexual activity, or expose a child to obscene or pornographic material.

A person must not subject a child to the use, production, trafficking, or distribution of hallucinogens, alcohol, tobacco products, drugs, or precursor chemicals.

A child has the right to rest, leisure, play, and age-appropriate cultural and artistic activities.

A person must not impose corporal punishment on a child.

A person must not torture, mistreat, unlawfully arrest, or deprive a child of liberty; and a child must not be subjected to capital punishment, life imprisonment, or incarceration because a parent is imprisoned, except in special circumstances.

A child is entitled to privacy suitable for the child’s age and maturity.

When a child gives evidence to a law enforcement officer or other authorised officer, questioning must be done with specified safeguards.

Parents, guardians, or persons with parental responsibility must teach a child the listed duties and responsibilities, and others must consider the child’s age, maturity, ability, and statutory limits when assessing those duties.

A person who wilfully or negligently infringes a child’s right under the Act commits an offence and may be punished on conviction.

A person may ask the Children’s Court for redress on behalf of a child if they allege the Act is being or is likely to be breached in relation to the child.

The Child Development Department is responsible for promoting and advancing child rights and development, and it may do its functions alone or with other public or private bodies.

The Civil Service Commission must appoint the Director of Child Development and other Child Development Department staff as public officers. The Director of Child Development may delegate functions in writing and may also revoke or vary that delegation in writing.

The Director of Child Development must promote child rights, recommend measures to prevent violence and abuse, raise awareness about legal aid for children, and inspect certain child facilities.

The Social Welfare Department must administer this Act and oversee child welfare activities, and it may do its functions alone or with other bodies.

The Civil Service Commission must appoint the Director of Social Welfare and certain Social Welfare Department staff as public officers. The Director of Social Welfare may delegate functions in writing and may later revoke or vary that delegation in writing.

The Director of Social Welfare must carry out child welfare functions, including service coordination, court-related reports, enforcement support, child welfare protection, tracing families of lost or abandoned children, and assistance for children in custody or court proceedings.

Child development officers and child welfare inspectors must carry and show appointment certificates, can inspect and search without a warrant at reasonable times, must return removed items, and people must not obstruct them or give false information.

The National Coordinating Committee for Children is established and may set up sub-committees in the provinces and districts.

Certain child-welfare officials are protected from actions for acts done in good faith and without negligence while carrying out powers under the Act.

Parents must maintain and protect their child, ensure care in their absence, and may exercise specified parental rights.

Parents have a duty to protect and provide for their child, and a person with parental responsibility must not give it up or transfer it except as allowed by law.

If unmarried parents have a child, the father may obtain parental responsibility by court order, agreement, or by acknowledging paternity or maintaining the child.

A court must terminate a parental responsibility agreement on application by a person with parental responsibility, or by the child with leave of the court.

This section says who exercises parental responsibility for a child when one or both parents die or cannot act.

A court may extend parental responsibility beyond a child’s nineteenth birthday if special welfare-related circumstances make that necessary.

A person who wilfully fails or refuses to exercise parental responsibility under this Part commits an offence and may be punished by a fine, imprisonment, or both.

A child is generally not criminally liable for an act or omission, except where the Penal Code provides otherwise.

A child has a right to privacy, protection of identity, and to remain silent in specified child apprehension, investigation, court, and custody situations. A person must not publish identifying information about a child, and doing so is an offence with fines or imprisonment.

Rules for apprehending a child: an officer or other person may use force to touch or confine the child if the child does not submit, and officers are generally not to be in uniform or carry a firearm at the child’s dwelling home unless specified safety exceptions apply.

A person may apprehend a child without a warrant if the child commits an offence in that person’s presence or is reasonably suspected of doing so.

A law enforcement officer may apprehend a child with or without a warrant, including without a warrant in specified suspected-offence and custody-related situations.

A child welfare inspector must try to find the child’s parent, guardian, close relative, or person with parental responsibility within 48 hours after a child is arrested in the inspector’s presence; if they cannot be found, the inspector must take responsibility for the child and place the child in a place of safety.

A child’s arrest warrant must be issued according to the Criminal Procedure Code.

A law enforcement officer arresting a child must tell the child why they are being arrested, and if the arrest is under warrant, must tell the child what the warrant says and show the child a copy.

Rules for searching an arrested child: a same-sex officer should search the child, with a child welfare inspector present, and any search must be done decently.

Police may give informal or formal cautions to a child, with conditions and record-keeping rules, and formal caution records must be expunged after five years.

A law enforcement officer may question or interview a child about an alleged offence only if a listed adult is present, or a child welfare inspector is present when required.

A child under arrest must be released on recognisance unless the offence is serious.

Children should be taken into custody only as a last resort, kept no longer than 48 hours, and given specific protections and care while in police custody.

If a child is in conflict with the law, diversion is the first option to consider, and the child must be treated equally when diversion options are selected.

A child may be diverted from the formal criminal justice system if the listed conditions are met.

If a child does not comply with a diversion option, a child welfare inspector or probation officer must seek court process, and the juvenile court or Children’s Court must examine why the child failed to comply.

A diversion programme must promote a child’s dignity and well-being and avoid harm, exploitation, and interference with education.

A diversion service provider must not offer a diversion programme unless it is accredited under the Act.

A diversion service provider must apply to the Director of Social Welfare for accreditation before offering a diversion programme, and pay the prescribed fee.

The Director of Social Welfare may suspend or revoke a diversion service provider’s accreditation for fraud, non-compliance, or breach of law, but must give notice and consider remedial measures first.

A subordinate court must sit as a juvenile court when hearing a charge against a child or dealing with any other child-related matter.

A juvenile court must hear and decide certain matters, including civil proceedings in specified Parts, most charges against a child, and questions about the accused child’s age.

This section gives the Children’s Court jurisdiction over specified child charges, certain appeals, related civil proceedings, and other jurisdiction conferred by law.

Juvenile court and Children’s Court sittings must be kept separate from other courts, attendance is tightly limited, courts may authorise extra attendees, and law enforcement officers must not attend in uniform or with firearms.

Most courts must not hear or decide child-related charges or matters when juvenile court jurisdiction applies; they must transfer the matter, and certain bail matters may still be handled in limited cases.

If a child appears in another competent court on a joint charge with an adult, that court must send the case to the Children’s Court.

If a person brought before a court appears to be a child, or says they are a child, the court must inquire into the person’s age.

Children in conflict with the law have several procedural rights, including prompt notice of charges, no compelled testimony or confession, interpreter assistance, review after a guilty finding, privacy protection, and special care for disability-related needs.

The court must tell a child at the start of proceedings about specified rights, and generally release a child on bail when charged with an offence unless there is serious danger to the child or the community.

The court must translate the charge or information for a child, ask the child whether they admit the offence, and follow specific steps if charges are withdrawn or if the case proceeds to defense and sentencing.

Courts may remand a child to a child transit centre if the child is not on bail, and several custody, transport, supervision, sex-segregation, health, and time-limit rules apply.

Courts must order and use a social welfare report when a child is charged with an offence, and the report is confidential.

A juvenile court or Children’s Court may order a child’s parent, guardian, or person with parental responsibility to give security, pay damages or costs, and must not use these powers discriminatorily.

This section sets special evidence rules for child witnesses in juvenile and Children’s Court proceedings.

A juvenile court or Children’s Court may choose among several responses for a child, but must consider the family’s ability to pay before ordering fines, damages, or costs. Children under 16 must not receive custodial orders, and older children must not receive custodial orders if another suitable option exists.

A juvenile court or Children’s Court may order a child’s fine, damages, or costs to be paid by the child’s parent, guardian, or person with parental responsibility, in certain cases.

The juvenile court or Children’s Court must prioritize the child’s welfare, keep child-upbringing cases from being delayed, may call expert witnesses, and must not allow identifying child details to be published or revealed.

A juvenile court or Children’s Court must make sure a child welfare inspector or another authorised officer is present throughout the proceedings.

A juvenile court or Children’s Court may require a report about a child and may consider statements or evidence in that report.

The Minister may establish or arrange a programme or service for child crime prevention, probation support, family assistance, early intervention, restorative justice, and diversion.

A probation officer must carry out listed child-welfare, supervision, reporting, counselling, tracing, and programme functions, subject to the direction of a juvenile court or Children’s Court.

Probation officers must apply for a warrant if a probationer breaches probation conditions, and law enforcement officers must apprehend the probationer when that warrant is issued.

A juvenile court or Children’s Court may make a probation order for a child charged with an offence, and must explain it and check the child understands it.

A probationer must tell the probation officer about any change of residence, and courts may add residence-related requirements to a probation order.

A court may require a child on probation to receive mental health treatment for up to 12 months, but it must not state the nature of the treatment in the probation order.

A juvenile court or Children’s Court must give copies of a probation order to specified people when it makes, amends, or discharges the order.

A juvenile court or Children’s Court may act on a probation-compliance report during the probation period, but it can issue a summons or warrant only on information on oath.

If a probationer is found guilty of an offence during the probation period, the juvenile court or Children’s Court may detain the probationer or grant bail, and must send case details and a signed certificate to the court that made the probation order.

A guilty finding tied to a probation order is generally treated as not a guilty finding, except for the probation proceedings themselves and later proceedings under the Act; it also does not affect the child’s right to appeal or to rely on the finding to bar later proceedings for the same offence.

A juvenile court or Children’s Court may amend a probation order, and must do so in certain cases, including when the probationer changes residence or agrees to the amended order.

A juvenile court or Children’s Court may discharge a probation order if a probation officer applies and the court is satisfied that discharge is in the probationer’s best interests.

A juvenile court or Children’s Court may order supervision, placement, or care arrangements for a child if a parent or guardian proves the child cannot be controlled, and it must do so only when necessary and with informed consent.

The Minister may create a Probation Committee by statutory instrument.

The Minister may establish child approved centres by statutory instrument, and each centre is supervised by the Director of Social Welfare.

The Minister responsible for correctional centres may establish child reformatory centres and child transit centres by statutory instrument, and child reformatory centres are supervised by the Chief Inspector.

A juvenile court or Children’s Court may make child-centre or reformatory-centre orders for a child after a guilty finding, and may direct temporary placement pending transfer.

The juvenile court or Children’s Court must give reasons for making an order, and the order must include specific details about the child and where and when the child is to be sent.

A person moving a child to a child approved centre or child reformatory centre must give the centre the listed court and welfare documents. The Director of Social Welfare and the Chief Inspector may also transfer a child between centres if it is in the child’s best interests.

A court order sending a child to an approved centre or reformatory centre cannot keep the child in custody for more than 3 years, and any earlier remand time must be counted.

The Director of Social Welfare or Chief Inspector may recommend extending a child’s custody, and the court must issue a warrant if satisfied and after receiving a social welfare report.

A person must not harbour or conceal a child ordered to a specified child facility, or knowingly stop a child from returning there; doing so can lead to a fine, imprisonment, or both.

A child who escapes or fails to return from a custody or leave arrangement may be arrested without warrant and brought before a juvenile court or Children’s Court. The court may also make a best-interests order if a child escapes from a fit person’s care and that person will not take the child back.

If a child in custody at a child approved centre or child reformatory centre is incorrigible or a bad influence, the person in charge must separate the child from the other children, for no longer than the remaining custody term.

The Director of Social Welfare or Chief Inspector may release a child only if the child is put under probation supervision, and a permit is not allowed within six months of custody starting.

A permit can be revoked, and the child must return to the approved centre or reformatory centre; if the child does not return, the child may be apprehended and taken there.

The person in charge of a child approved centre or child reformatory centre must send a written report about children in custody to the Director of Social Welfare or the Chief Inspector. A child must stay under a probation officer’s supervision for one year after custody ends.

A court may order a parent, guardian, or other responsible person to contribute to a child's maintenance costs while the child is in custody, and the court sets when and how payment must be made.

The juvenile court or Children’s Court may issue a summons requiring a named person to attend and produce a child, and a summoned person must comply unless they have a reasonable excuse.

A child’s record of finding of guilty and order must be expunged after 5 years or 10 years, depending on the type of order and compliance conditions.

The Minister may make agreements with another State or territory about placing certain children there, and may sign a warrant to move a child under order into that place.

The court must explain the right to appeal, and a child or the child’s parent, guardian, or person with parental responsibility may lodge an appeal.

A court may make an affiliation order if the child’s mother applies after giving birth, or if there is proof the biological or putative father has paid money for the child’s maintenance.

A court may make an affiliation order if the child’s mother applies and proves the stated pre-birth marriage facts.

A court may make an affiliation order when a child applies through the child's next friend, subject to the Act's limitations.

When hearing an affiliation order application, the court must hear the mother’s evidence and any evidence from or for the biological or putative father. It must not make the order unless the evidence is corroborated in some material particular by other evidence.

A court may mark a party as unfit to have custody in an affiliation order, and it may later vary, discharge, suspend, or revive the order. A parent covered by such an order does not automatically get custody or guardianship on the other parent’s death unless the court gives leave.

A child born to a mother and father has equal rights and privileges whether or not the parents are married.

A child born during a woman’s marriage, or within 10 months after the marriage ends, is presumed to be the husband’s or former husband’s child unless the contrary is shown.

In testate succession, wills, and trusts, a father-child relationship is recognised only if paternity was admitted by the father or established during his lifetime.

This section says several kinds of documents or orders can be used as prima facie evidence of paternity, and a court declaration can be conclusive proof unless the contrary is proved.

If a court makes a declaration of paternity or an affiliation order, the Registrar or clerk of court must notify the Director of Social Welfare and send a copy to the Registrar-General for filing.

A court may order a paternity test and sample taking in civil paternity proceedings, and the test operator must report the results to the court.

Samples for a court order under section 126 generally need the person’s consent, with special rules for children and a mental patient, and the sample-taker must explain the consequences.

A person must not, with intent to falsify a paternity test result, provide a wrong sample, impersonate the sample provider, or get someone else or a child to take the test when they are not the person named in the court order.

This section says that, in several child-care situations, maintenance of the child is a joint responsibility, unless a court directs otherwise.

A court may make a maintenance order for the child concerned when making an affiliation order or later on application.

A maintenance order may require the defendant to make periodic child-support payments or pay a lump sum for child-care expenses, and a court may add interest if lump-sum payment is deferred or paid by instalments.

Before making a maintenance order, a court must consider the child’s best interests and the child’s circumstances.

A court may order a step-parent to make financial provision for a child accepted as a child of the family.

Section 134 limits child maintenance orders by age, but allows exceptions in specified cases.

A court may vary, discharge, temporarily suspend, or revive a maintenance order provision, and must consider the section 132 factors when doing so.

For child maintenance payments, the person entitled to receive the payment is the child’s mother, father, guardian, or custodial parent. A court may also direct that the money be paid into court first.

The court may make maintenance orders for a child of the family in divorce, nullity, or judicial separation cases, and in some cases must order a party to the marriage to pay periodic amounts or a lump sum.

A guardian or custodial parent may apply to court about a child's maintenance and ask for periodic payments. A person aged 19 or older may also apply for a maintenance order, with the court's leave, if education, disability, illness, or other special circumstances justify it.

A court may make orders about education, medical care, housing, clothing, or other needs for a child of the family.

A court may appoint a fit person to receive and manage maintenance money, or require the payer to secure it in trust for the child.

A court may make custody orders for children and certain other persons, and it may hear matters involving a party domiciled outside the Republic.

If a custody order application has been made, a person cannot remove the child from the applicant’s custody without the court’s leave and the applicant’s consent.

The court may make child custody and access orders, appoint a custodial parent in some cases, and deal with revocation and replacement of custody orders.

When deciding custody, the court must consider listed child-related factors and may request and receive a report. It may also give the non-custodial person shared rights and duties, except possession, in some custody cases.

A court may order custody supervision by a child welfare inspector in exceptional circumstances, and the inspector must report after three months.

If joint custodial parents disagree about exercising or carrying out a custody order, either person named in the order may apply to court, and the court may send the dispute to mediation or make an order if mediation fails.

A court may make an interim custody order and later review, suspend, or vary it.

A child’s father and mother may make a custody agreement, but a court must not enforce it if the court thinks it is not in the child’s best interests.

A court may order maintenance of a child when varying or discharging a custody order, including on its own motion.

A person entitled to receive payments under a High Court maintenance order may apply to register it in a subordinate court, and the court officer must register it once a certified copy is received.

A person entitled to receive payments under a subordinate-court maintenance order may ask the original court to register the order if registration would help enforcement.

Registered maintenance orders change how payments are made, and the court can direct payments through the court’s proper officer.

A maintenance order that is registered in one court must not be registered in any other court, subject to this Part.

A registered order can be enforced as if the court of registration had made it and had jurisdiction, but after discharge no proceedings may be taken based on that registration except for unreitted arrears due at discharge.

This section lets a court of registration vary certain registered orders, but limits that power and requires some applications to be sent back to the original court.

This section sets out who must give notice to cancel registration of a registered order, and when the court of registration must cancel it.

A person, including a child with a maintenance order in their favour, may apply to a court to enforce the order.

The surviving parent becomes the child’s guardian when a parent dies, and may have to act jointly with a guardian appointed by the deceased parent. If no such guardian was appointed, or the appointed guardian is dead or refuses to act, the court may appoint one to act jointly with the surviving parent.

A guardian appointed under this Act does not have to be a citizen or resident of the Republic, and a guardian for a child’s estate has powers and duties to manage the estate and report accounts.

Parents and guardians may appoint a guardian for a child by will or deed, but the appointment only takes effect if the required formalities are met.

A court may appoint a guardian for a child in specified circumstances.

This section is about a guardian’s revocation and disclaimer.

This section lets certain guardian appointments be revoked or disclaimed, and requires the court to decide who will have guardianship or legal custody if no further order is made.

A guardian’s appointment ends when the child turns 19, but a court may extend it in limited cases.

The section lets guardians, certain family members, the Director of Social Welfare, or others with parental responsibility ask the court to decide disputes about a child’s welfare, and lets the court make necessary orders.

A guardian appointed under section 159 has the same powers over a child as certain other guardians.

A guardian of a child commits an offence if they fail to produce a required account or knowingly/recklessly give a false one.

This section says when a child is treated as being in need of care and protection, based on a long list of situations.

This section says a child in need of care and protection should stay in the birth family if that is in the child’s best interests, otherwise the child should be placed in kinship care or emergency foster care, or as a last resort in a place of safety.

An authorised officer must apply to court within 48 hours after a child is taken to a place of safety, and must notify the Director of Social Welfare before applying.

A court may make child-protection orders, including return to parent, foster care, place of safety, counselling, or special orders for child marriage, disability, armed conflict, disaster, or drug abuse cases.

The ministry must provide places of safety for children in need of care and protection, and places of safety and officials have reporting, investigation, and court-application duties after taking a child in.

If a child in a place of safety needs medical care, the responsible officer must take the child to a health facility. After in-patient admission, the officer must immediately notify the parent, guardian, or Director of Social Welfare. Health facilities or practitioners must also report serious offences against a child and preserve relevant information.

If a child in need of care and protection is brought before the court, the court must let the child’s parent, guardian, or person with parental responsibility be heard on an application about the child.

A court may redirect trust money for a child’s maintenance to another person caring for the child, if the child has been removed from someone’s care.

A person responsible for a child commits an offence if they neglect, assault, ill-treat, abandon, or expose the child to suffering or injury.

A court may issue a child-protection warrant, and an authorised officer may search, enter, remove the child, and keep the child safe under that warrant.

A court may make child protection orders, and certain people may apply for them.

A court may make and manage supervision orders for a child in need of care and protection, subject to notice, welfare-report, hearing, and time-limit requirements.

A court may make a care order for a child if the statutory conditions are met, and it must also follow rules on disability cases, records, duration, monitoring, interim care orders, discharge, and variation.

A court must consider contact arrangements before making a care order and invite the parties to comment or apply for contact.

The child welfare ministry must provide intensive family support and other welfare support for certain children, and approved or accredited providers may also provide intensive family support.

A social service provider that wants to provide intensive family support must apply to the Director of Social Welfare for accreditation and pay the prescribed fee.

A person who wants to foster a child must notify the Director of Social Welfare in the prescribed form and manner.

This section sets who may apply to be foster parents, who is barred, when the Children’s Court can allow an exception, and that foster parents have the same maintenance responsibility as a parent.

A child may be placed in foster care for a period set by the Children’s Court, or until the child turns 19.

A child welfare inspector must prepare a report for the Children’s Court, and the court must place the child with the prospective foster parent based on that report.

A child whose religion is known should be placed with a prospective foster parent of the same religion; if that is not possible, placement with a foster parent of a different religion is allowed. If the child’s religion is unknown, the child should be placed with a foster parent who will raise the child in that foster parent’s religious denomination.

A child should, where possible, be placed with a prospective foster parent who shares the child’s cultural background; if that is not possible, placement with a different cultural background is allowed.

A foster parent must sign the undertaking on the day the child is placed, and a child welfare inspector must arrange translation and explanation if the foster parent cannot understand English well enough.

Children placed with foster parents must be medically examined and reported on, and foster parents must keep records and ensure required reports and examinations are completed.

Child welfare inspectors must visit foster placements on a set schedule and after certain triggers, then report their findings to the Director of Social Welfare.

A foster parent cannot take a child out of the Republic without leave from the Children’s Court.

If a foster child is ill, the foster parent must get medical attention for the child and notify the Director of Social Welfare as soon as practicable.

When a foster child dies, the foster parent must get a death certificate and post-mortem report and notify the Director of Social Welfare within 24 hours.

A foster parent may appeal to the Children’s Court if a child welfare inspector seeks to remove a foster child after more than 12 months in care, and the Children’s Court may stop the removal or allow it with conditions.

The Director of Social Welfare must keep foster parent and foster child records, including specified details and supporting documents.

In adoption matters, the child’s best interests are paramount, adoption should be considered only after efforts to keep the child in the biological family are exhausted, national mechanisms must be used before inter-country adoption, and poverty alone cannot justify adoption.

This section sets out open and closed adoption, including name changes, family links, inheritance, and post-adoption agreements.

A child may be adopted if one of the listed conditions is met.