Permanency planning – adoption, guardianship and fostering
At a glance
- adoption provides a lifelong legal family for a child
- open adoption supports ongoing family and cultural connections
- not all children in care will have adoption as an option
- consent from parents, the child (if appropriate) and the Court is required
- financial and other supports may be available after adoption
Hana El Zohiry
Permanent placement principles
Children and young people do best when they have stability and a sense of belonging. When they experience consistent care, they’re more likely to build strong relationships, feel connected to who they are, and have better outcomes in life.
That’s why NSW child protection laws require decisions about children in care to follow permanent placement principles.
Where it is safe, the priority is always to keep families together. When this isn’t possible, these principles guide caseworkers and the Children’s Court to find the most stable and appropriate long-term home for each child or young person.
“They’re beautiful human beings that have come from difficult backgrounds. Giving them a second chance to reach their potential — you can’t put a price on that.”
Sonia, carer, Bondi Junction
The preferred order for permanent placements is:
- restoration (returning the child to their family)
- guardianship (often with relatives or kin)
- open adoption (for non-Aboriginal children)
- long-term care
🔗Information about - Permanency pathways
The first goal of permanency planning is to support a child or young person to safely return to their parents or legal guardian. This is called restoration.
Restoration involves strong engagement from the child’s family. Caseworkers work closely with both the family and carers to make sure it is safe for the child to return home.
Carers play an important role during this time, especially in supporting the child to stay connected with their family through family time and ongoing relationships.
Even after a child returns home, many carers continue to have a relationship with them. While saying goodbye can be hard, it can also be a positive and rewarding experience to see a child safely reunited with their family.
🔗Information about - Restoration
If the Court decides that restoration is not possible within two years, guardianship may be considered as the next option.
If you’re thinking about guardianship, talk to your caseworker.
🔗 Information about becoming a child’s guardian, guardianship orders, and support for guardians - Guardianship
🔗 PSP Learning Hub Factsheet covering open adoption and guardianship.
Adoption orders aim to provide children and young people with a loving home for life as a legal member of their adoptive family.
The status of the adopted person, and of the adoptive parent, is the same as if the child had been part of the family at birth.
Open adoption in NSW is different to past adoption practices. Adopted children are supported to remain connected to their birth family and cultural heritage. Adoptive parents follow an agreed adoption plan, which includes the ways they will support their child’s cultural identity and contact with birth-family members.
Open adoption may be considered if a child cannot be restored to their family and stable care cannot be provided by suitable relatives or kin.
Where it is preferable to any other order, including parental responsibility to the Minister, open adoption is a permanency option for Aboriginal children in out-of-home care (OOHC).
Aboriginal children have access to the same permanency options as any other child in OOHC, including adoption. However, adoption has lower priority under the permanent placement principles outlined in Section 10A of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998- external sitelaunch. Aboriginal children and families have the right to participate in decisions about adoption.
🔗 Information about - Open adoption
🔗 PSP Learning Hub Factsheet covering open adoption and guardianship.
If restoration, guardianship or adoption are not suitable, long-term care with a carer may provide stability and consistency for a child or young person.
Where possible, the preferred outcomes are safe restoration or a permanent arrangement such as guardianship or adoption.
Carers play a vital role in providing a safe, stable and caring home while long-term plans are being decided.
Adoption
From caring to adoption
For many carers, adoption is a way of making a lifelong commitment to a child or young person in their care.
Adoption means you take on full parental rights and responsibilities. The child becomes a permanent member of your family, with the same legal status and entitlements as any other child, both during childhood and into adulthood.
If you’re thinking about adopting a child in your care, it’s important to talk with your caseworker. Whether adoption is an option will depend on a range of factors, including the child’s circumstances, their restoration plan, their age, and the views and consent of the child and their birth family.
🔗for information about the adoption process, how to apply, adoption orders and open adoption. Also, finding birth parents and past adoption - Adoption