Special guardianship is an alternative way of securing custody and guardianship of mokopuna who require a permanent care living arrangement. It offers increased security for mokopuna and their caregivers by:
- providing the special guardians with day-to-day care of the child until they are 18 years of age
- allowing the ongoing role played by the guardians to be specified based on what is best for the child
- enabling the Court to specify which guardianship rights will be shared between the special and existing guardians, and which rights (if any) will be held exclusively by the special guardian
A caregiver can apply for a special guardianship order if that is their preference. If they want us to we can apply for a special guardianship order on their behalf when we apply to discharge orders in favour of the chief executive. Remember, caregivers must always be encouraged to seek independent legal advice.
There don't have to be issues between the guardians for a caregiver to choose to become a special guardian. However, when there are issues between guardians impacting on the stability and security of the mokopuna, the Court can consider giving specific guardianship rights exclusively to a special guardian once all alternative methods for resolution have been exhausted.
It is important to remember that though the Court has the ability to determine if specific guardianship rights should be held exclusively by a Special Guardian, when considering a special guardianship order our starting position is always that guardianship rights are shared with the birth parents/other guardians.
Permanent caregivers with CoCA orders for mokupuna who have been in the custody of the chief executive, and who are experiencing difficulty exercising their guardianship rights due to behaviour of birth parents/other guardians which is negatively impacting the mokopuna, have an option to change to a special guardianship order.
To do this they need to demonstrate to the Court that the parents’/other guardians' conduct represents a pattern of behaviour, that the welfare of the mokopuna is being threatened or seriously disrupted as a result, and that all other measures under CoCA to resolve disputes have been exhausted. See 'Special guardianship from CoCA orders' below.
A special guardianship order is not reviewed; however, under the provisions there is an obligation on the special guardian to advise a Oranga Tamariki social worker if the mokopuna has left their care and is living with someone else on more than a temporary basis. See 'Change in living circumstances' below.