A NEW factsheet is helping separated parents work through the impact of COVID-19 public health guidelines on parenting arrangements for their children.
“We’ve had a lot of people contact us who are worried or confused about how the COVID-19 border closures, hot spots, declared areas and other public health guidelines are affecting parenting arrangements with their ex-partner,” Legal Aid Queensland family lawyer Sarah D’Alton said.
“As a result, Legal Aid Queensland has released a new factsheet, Parenting arrangements and public health guidelines — what COVID-19 means for you and your children, to answer common questions and help people understand their legal rights and options.”
Ms D’Alton said some of the questions answered in the factsheet included whether court orders and parenting plans still applied during COVID-19 and what parents can do if quarantine or public health guidelines are making it hard to follow their parenting agreements.
“It’s essential for everyone to follow public health guidelines and if you have court orders or a parenting plan, you must continue to follow those plans unless you have a reasonable reason not to,” she said.
“In most cases, parenting arrangements can continue, even with restrictions in place.
“If you have to make changes to your parenting arrangements, we would encourage people to try and come up with alternative arrangements that they can both agree to, so long as it is safe for them and their children.
“As always, all decisions and arrangements should be focused on the child and in their best interest.”
For more information about parenting arrangements and other legal issues, visit the Legal Aid Queensland website www.legalaid.qld.gov.au, call us on 1300 65 11 88 (local call cost if you are calling from a landline) from Monday to Friday between 8:30am and 4pm AEST, or visit one of our 14 offices across the state.
Media contact:
Miranda Greer or Katherine Gorter (07) 3917 0407 or (07) 3917 0457
Last updated 7 September 2020