Healthcare Practices for Children with Separated or Divorced Parents

As separated or divorced parents, you both have the right to give consent for your child's medical care and request access to their medical information, unless a court order has revoked these rights or if the child is deemed a mature minor and can make their own decisions.

If there is an existing parenting order made by the court, you must provide a copy to us.

Immediate notification of any changes to the parenting order is crucial in such circumstances.

In the absence of court orders, it is expected that separated or divorced parents will communicate about their child's medical care and share relevant information. 

Our healthcare practitioners can only provide information during scheduled appointments.

If parents are unable to communicate with each other, we will require each parent to arrange separate appointments with the practitioner.

We will not be able to facilitate split payments. However, we can facilitate processing Medicare rebates for different claimants if required.

Parents are encouraged to resolve disagreements on treatment options independently.

If this proves challenging, seeking legal advice and involving the Family Court may be necessary to determine the best interests of the child.

Practitioners are legally allowed to proceed with treatment based on one parent's consent, as long as there is no court order restricting that parent from providing consent.