Parents' rights

Families have the primary responsibility for the upbringing, protection and development of their children.

For the most part, the law allows parents to bring up their children according to their own values and beliefs. This means that parents have the right to make decisions about their child or young person's upbringing without interference unless a parent's action or inaction causes harm or places their child at risk of harm.

Parents have the right to seek legal advice at any stage of our department's intervention. Parents also have the right to:

• be told about allegations of harm and the outcome of assessments
• participate in decision making
• privacy and confidentiality
• access documents about their own personal affairs through our Right to Information, Information Privacy and Screening Branch, including documents about their private life, medical records, family or domestic relationships, income, assets or financial records.