(VIC) Remove Time Limits on Family Reunification Orders

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Author: Sandile Huaraka | Publish date: 05/05/2025

Problem Identification: 

In Victoria (VIC), the Children's Court of Victoria issues family reunification orders with fixed time limits, after which it cannot issue further orders.

Section 287A of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (VIC) sets a maximum cumulative period of 24 months that a child can spend in out-of-home care (OOHC) under family reunification orders.

This means that some families facing complex challenges may not have sufficient time to meet required conditions before the Court is legally prevented from making further family reunification orders, even if such orders ‘may be in the child’s best interests.’ This is known to disproportionately affect parents needing additional support; for example, due to ‘a disability … mental health issue or family violence.’

Context: 

Family reunification orders (FROs) are legal orders issued by the Children’s Court when a child has been removed from their family due to safety concerns. The FRO allows the child to live in out-of-home care while efforts are made to reunite them with their family. The Court can initially order a period of up to 12 months, before granting an extension of up to an additional 12 months. 

During this time, the child’s family can work with the Child Protection Service to meet specific conditions with the aim of ‘safe, timely and sustainable reunification’. No further FRO can be made if a child has been in OOHC for 24 months or more. At that point, the Court typically issues a Care by Secretary Order to place the child in permanent or long-term care, either with extended family or another family. 

According to Victoria Legal Aid (VLA), the VIC Government introduced time limits in 2016 to reduce the time children spend in OOHC and ‘promote more timely decisions about children’s long-term care.’ However, they have argued that ‘the strict reunification timeframes, without exception, give the Court no ability to make orders extending the timeframe where it is in the child’s best interests to do so.’ 

VLA has also argued that fixed timelines may ‘prevent family reunification, contrary to the intent of the legislation’. They highlighted that there are circumstances outside of the parents’ control that can hinder reunification efforts, such as ‘long wait times, costs [and] limited services near to a parent’s home’. Similarly, Monash University and Women’s Legal Service Victoria found that a combination of family violence and inconsistent support services can make it difficult to address protective concerns and, therefore, ‘less likely that [mothers] would achieve reunification within the legislated timeframe’. 

The Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (VACCA) ‘has continually raised concerns about the two year timeframes for reunifications’. They highlighted ‘the serious overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in Victoria’s child protection system’ and the way involvement in the system can lead to ‘disconnection from community and culture’. They also emphasised that ‘culture is an important protective factor for Aboriginal children and young people’, noting that cultural disconnection can have a serious and significant adverse impact on their wellbeing. 

VLA, among others, have advocated for the ‘removal of time-limits on reunification’. They have claimed this could enable the Court to ‘uphold the best interests of [the] child’. 

There is international precedent for greater flexibility in child protection orders. In New Zealand, the court may extend care and protection orders as often as necessary, with periodic reviews to assess whether reunification is achievable and in the child’s best interests.

Solution Identification: 

Repeal section 287A of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (VIC) to remove time limits on reunification orders. 

This could provide the Children’s Court with greater discretion to determine the appropriate duration of the FRO and ensure the Court’s decisions align with the child’s best interests.

Advice:

The VIC Minister for Children should repeal section 287A of the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (VIC) at the next opportunity.

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Public Support: 

1. Victoria Legal Aid

2. Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency

3. Women’s Legal Service Victoria

Where to go to learn more: 

1. Transforming child protection to support families and children to thrive - VLA’s proposed reforms to transform child protection. Read their reforms here.

2. Achieving safe and certain homes for children - VLA’s report on improving the permanency amendments to the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic). Read the full report here. 

3. VACCA’s Submission to the Yoorook Justice Commission on Systemic Injustice in the Child Protection and the Criminal Justice Systems - Includes information on the impact of child protection orders on Aboriginal families. Read the full submission here. 

4. Stronger Together: Strengthening families to improve outcomes for children -  report by Monash University and Women’s Legal Service Victoria on the experiences of mothers working with Child Protection to reunite with their children. Read the full report here.

5. DFFH Child Protection Orders - The different orders that can be made by the Victorian Children’s Court. Access the list here. 

6. Children’s and Young People’s Well-being Act 1989 - New Zealand Act that allows for reviews and extensions of care and protection orders. Read the full act here. 

7. Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic) - Read the full act here.  

   
   

Human Perspective:

Trigger Warning: Family Separation

At just 21, Anna was battling homelessness, depression and the scars of childhood trauma. Her struggles meant she couldn’t always keep her four-year-old son, Eli, safe. When concerns grew, Eli was placed in care. Anna was initially given 12 months to turn her life around. Despite her efforts, the deadline expired before she could show the full progress she was making. The Court issued a new family reunification order, giving her more time. She kept fighting by completing therapy, securing stable housing, and finding part-time work. She was determined to bring Eli home. 2 years passed and under the old law, her chance at reunification may have ended there. But with the recent changes, the Court could look beyond the ticking clock and see the real progress Anna had achieved. The judge granted her the time she needed, recognising that reunification was in Eli’s best interests. 3 years after they were first separated, Eli was reunited with Anna.

To protect the anonymity of those involved, this is a fictionalised account drawn from an amalgamation of real-life stories, experiences, and testimonials gathered during the research process for this brief. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.

Conflict of interest/acknowledgment statement: 

N/a.

Support 

If your organisation would like to add your support to this paper or suggest amendments, please email Info@foreaustralia.com. 

Reference list: 

‌Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic). https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-10/05-96aa139-authorised.pdf

Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 (NZ). https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1989/0024/latest/whole.html

Pfitzner, N., Meyer, S., Helps, N., & McGowan, J. (2022). Stronger Together: Strengthening families to improve outcomes for children. Monash University. https://doi.org/10.26180/19353284

Victoria Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. (2017, June 30). Child protection orders - DHHS Services. https://services.dffh.vic.gov.au/child-protection-orders

Victoria Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. (2018). Family reunification - advice | Child Protection Manual | CP Manual Victoria. https://www.cpmanual.vic.gov.au/advice-and-protocols/advice/case-planning/family-reunification-advice

Victoria Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. (2020). Family Reunification Order: information for young people. https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cpmanual.vic.gov.au%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2F2020-11%2F2911.2%2520Family%2520reunification%2520for%2520young%2520people%2520V4.doc&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

Victoria Legal Aid. (2020). Achieving safe and certain homes for children. https://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/vla/vla_report_child_protection_permanency_report_pdf.pdf

Victoria Legal Aid. (2025, April 14). Transforming child protection to support families and children to thrive. https://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/transforming-child-protection-support-families-and-children-thrive#change-the-law-to-reinstate-flexible-child-focussed-decision-making

Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency. (2022, December). Yoorrook - Nuther-mooyoop on Systemic Injustice in the Child Protection and the Criminal Justice Systems. https://www.vacca.org/content/Document/VACCA_Submission_Yoorrook_Dec%202022%20PUBLIC.pdf