{"id":"status-of-children-act-1978","name":"Status of Children Act 1978","slug":"status-of-children-act-1978","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nt","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30615,"registerId":"nt-status-of-children-act-1978-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Status of Children Act 1978","content":"NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\nSTATUS OF CHILDREN ACT 1978\nAs in force at 20 December 2022\nTable of provisions\nPart I Preliminary\n1 Short title ......................................................................................... 1\n2 Commencement .............................................................................. 1\n2A Application to persons ..................................................................... 1\n3 Interpretation ................................................................................... 1\nPart II Status of children\n4 Determination of relationship ........................................................... 2\n4A Presumptions arising from marriage ................................................ 2\n5 Presumptions of paternity arising from cohabitation ........................ 3\nPart IIIA Children conceived following medical\nprocedures\n5A Interpretation ................................................................................... 3\n5B Application of Part ........................................................................... 4\n5C Rule relating to maternity ................................................................. 4\n5D Rule relating to paternity .................................................................. 5\n5DA Rule relating to parentage – female de facto partners ..................... 5\n5E Donor of ovum ................................................................................. 5\n5F Status of sperm donor ..................................................................... 6\nPart III Disposition of property\n6 Instruments ...................................................................................... 6\n7 Persons dealing with property ......................................................... 6\n8 Recognition of paternity ................................................................... 7\nPart IV Establishment of paternity and maternity\n9 Presumptions of parentage arising from registration of birth ........... 8\n9A Presumptions of paternity arising from acknowledgments ............... 8\n9B Parentage arising from findings of courts ........................................ 8\n10 Instruments filed with district Registrar ............................................ 9\n11 Paternity .......................................................................................... 9\n12 Maternity ........................................................................................ 10\n\nStatus of Children Act 1978 ii\nPart V Parentage testing\n13 Medical procedures to determine parentage ................................. 11\n14 Matters to be taken into account in making determination ............. 12\n15 Reports of medical procedure........................................................ 13\nPart VI Miscellaneous\n16 Presumptions of law ...................................................................... 13\n17 Closed courts................................................................................. 13\n18 Regulations.................................................................................... 14\nENDNOTES\n\nNORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\n____________________\nAs in force at 20 December 2022\n____________________\nSTATUS OF CHILDREN ACT 1978\nAn Act relating to the Status of Children\nPart I Preliminary\n1 Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Status of Children Act 1978.\n2 Commencement\nThis Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by the\nAdministrator by notice in the Gazette.\n2A Application to persons\nThis Act applies to a person, whether or not the person:\n(a) was born in the Territory;\n(b) was born before the commencement of this Act; or\n(c) is an infant,\nand whether or not the person's parents have ever been domiciled\nin the Territory.\n3 Interpretation\nIn this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\nmarriage includes:\n(a) a void marriage and a voidable marriage which has been\nannulled by a court; and\n(b) a relationship between an Aboriginal man and woman that is\nrecognized as a traditional marriage by the community or\ngroup to which they belong,\nand married has a corresponding meaning.\n\nPart II Status of children\nStatus of Children Act 1978 2\nparentage testing procedure means a medical procedure\nprescribed, or included in a class of medical procedures prescribed,\nfor the purposes of this definition.\nprescribed court means a Territory court, a court of the\nCommonwealth, a court of a State or another Territory or a court of\na prescribed overseas jurisdiction.\nproof means proof on a balance of probabilities and proved has a\ncorresponding meaning.\nRegistrar means the Registrar within the meaning of the Birth,\nDeaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996.\nPart II Status of children\n4 Determination of relationship\n(1) For all purposes of the law of the Northern Territory the relationship\nbetween every person and his father and mother shall be\ndetermined irrespective of whether the father and mother are or\nhave been married to each other and all other relationships shall be\ndetermined accordingly.\n(2) The rule of construction whereby in any instrument, in the absence\nof expression of any intention to the contrary, words of relationship\nsignify only legitimate relationships, is abolished.\n(3) For the purpose of construing any instrument the use, with\nreference to relationship of a person, of the words \"legitimate\" or\n\"lawful\" shall not of itself prevent the relationship from being\ndetermined in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1).\n4A Presumptions arising from marriage\n(1) If a child is born to a woman while she is married, the child is\npresumed to be a child of the woman and her husband.\n(2) If:\n(a) at a particular time:\n(i) a marriage to which a woman is a party is ended by\ndeath; or\n(ii) a purported marriage to which a woman is a party is\nannulled; and\n(b) a child is born to the woman within 44 weeks after that time,\n\nPart IIIA Children conceived following medical procedures\nStatus of Children Act 1978 3\nthe child is presumed to be a child of the woman and the former\nhusband or purported husband.\n(3) If:\n(a) the parties to a marriage separated at any time;\n(b) after the separation, they resumed cohabitation on one\noccasion;\n(c) within 3 months after the resumption of cohabitation, they\nseparated again and lived separately and apart; and\n(d) a child is born to the woman within 44 weeks after the end of\ncohabitation but after the dissolution of the marriage,\nthe child is presumed to be a child of the woman and the former\nhusband.\n(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), a marriage dissolved by a\ndecree of dissolution shall be deemed to have been dissolved on\nthe making of the decree nisi under the Family Law Act 1975 of the\nCommonwealth in relation to the marriage.\n5 Presumptions of paternity arising from cohabitation\nIf:\n(a) a child is born to a woman; and\n(b) at any time during the period beginning not earlier than 44\nweeks and ending not later than 20 weeks before the birth, the\nwoman cohabited with a man to whom she was not married,\nthe child is presumed to be a child of the man.\nPart IIIA Children conceived following medical\nprocedures\n5A Interpretation\n(1) In this Part:\nfertilization procedure means:\n(a) artificial insemination; or\n\nPart IIIA Children conceived following medical procedures\nStatus of Children Act 1978 4\n(b) the procedure of fertilizing an ovum outside the body and\ntransferring the fertilized ovum into the uterus whether or not\nthe ovum was produced by the woman into whose uterus it is\ntransferred.\n(2) A reference in this Part to the husband or wife of a person:\n(a) is, where the person is living with another person of the\nopposite sex as his or her spouse on a bona fide domestic\nbasis although not married to the other person, a reference to\nthat other person; and\n(b) does not, in that case, include a reference to the spouse, if\nany, to whom the person is lawfully married,\nand married woman, in those circumstances, has a corresponding\nmeaning.\n5B Application of Part\n(1) This Part applies to and in relation to:\n(a) a pregnancy referred to in section 5C, 5D or 5E, whether the\npregnancy occurred before or after the commencement of the\nStatus of Children Amendment Act 1985 and whether or not it\nresulted from a fertilization procedure carried out in the\nTerritory; and\n(b) a child born as a result of a pregnancy referred to in\nsection 5C, 5D, 5E or 5F, whether the child was born before or\nafter the commencement of the Status of Children\nAmendment Act 1985 and whether or not it was born in the\nTerritory.\n(2) Nothing in this Part affects the vesting in possession or in interest of\nproperty that occurred before the commencement of the Status of\nChildren Amendment Act 1985.\n5C Rule relating to maternity\nA woman who gives birth to a child is, for all purposes, the mother\nof the child, notwithstanding that the child was conceived by the\nfertilization of an ovum taken from another woman.\n\nPart IIIA Children conceived following medical procedures\nStatus of Children Act 1978 5\n5D Rule relating to paternity\n(1) Where a married woman undergoes, with the consent of her\nhusband, a fertilization procedure as a result of which she becomes\npregnant:\n(a) the husband is taken to have caused the pregnancy and to be\nthe father of a child born as a result of the pregnancy; and\n(b) in the case where the semen used in the fertilization\nprocedure was not that of the husband, the man who\nproduced the semen is taken not to have produced that\nsemen and not to be the father of a child born as the result of\nthe pregnancy.\n(3) In a proceeding in which the operation of subsection (1) is relevant,\na husband's consent to the carrying out of a fertilization procedure\nin respect of his wife shall be presumed, but that presumption is\nrebuttable.\n5DA Rule relating to parentage – female de facto partners\n(1) Where a woman who is the de facto partner of another woman\nundergoes, with the consent of the other woman, a fertilization\nprocedure as a result of which she becomes pregnant, the other\nwoman is taken to be a parent of:\n(a) the unborn child; and\n(b) a child born as a result of the pregnancy.\n(3) In a proceeding in which the operation of subsection (1) is relevant,\na woman's consent to the carrying out of a fertilzation procedure in\nrespect of her de facto partner is to be presumed, but that\npresumption is rebuttable.\n5E Donor of ovum\nWhere:\n(a) a woman becomes pregnant as the result of a fertilization\nprocedure; and\n(b) the ovum used for the purposes of the procedure was taken\nfrom another woman,\nthen, for all purposes, the woman from whom the ovum was taken\nis not the mother of a child born as a result of the pregnancy.\n\nPart III Disposition of property\nStatus of Children Act 1978 6\n5F Status of sperm donor\nIf an unmarried woman, or a married woman without the consent of\nher husband, becomes pregnant by means of a fertilization\nprocedure using sperm obtained from a man who is not her\nhusband, that man is taken not to be the father of any child born as\na result of the pregnancy.\nPart III Disposition of property\n6 Instruments\n(1) All instruments executed before the commencement of this Act\nshall be governed by the enactments, rules of construction and law\nwhich would have applied to them if this Act had not been passed.\n(2) Where an instrument to which subsection (1) applies creates a\nspecial power of appointment nothing in this Act shall extend the\nclass of persons in whose favour the appointment may be made or\ncause the exercise of the power to be construed so as to include\nany person who is not a member of that class.\n(3) The estate of a person who dies intestate as to the whole or any\npart of his estate before the commencement of this Act shall be\ndistributed in accordance with the enactments and rules of law\nwhich would have applied to the estate if this Act had not been\npassed.\n7 Persons dealing with property\n(1) For the purposes of the administration or distribution of any estate\nor of any property held upon trust, or of any application under the\nFamily Provision Act 1970, or for any other purposes, an executor,\nadministrator, or trustee is not under any obligation to inquire as to\nthe existence of any person who could claim an interest in the\nestate or the property by reason only of the provisions of this Act.\n(2) No action shall lie against:\n(a) an executor of a person's will;\n(b) an administrator or trustee of a person's estate; or\n(c) the trustee under any instrument,\n\nPart III Disposition of property\nStatus of Children Act 1978 7\nby any person who could claim an interest in the estate or property\nby reason only of any of the provisions of this Act, to enforce any\nclaim arising by reason of the executor or administrator or trustee:\n(d) having made any distribution of the estate or of the property\nheld upon trust; or\n(e) having otherwise acted in the administration of the estate or\nproperty held on trust,\nso as to disregard the claims where, at the time of making the\ndistribution or otherwise so acting, the executor, administrator or\ntrustee had no notice of the relationship on which the claim is\nbased.\n8 Recognition of paternity\n(1) The relationship of father and child and any other relationship\ntraced in any degree through that relationship shall:\n(a) for any purpose related to succession to property;\n(b) for any purpose related to the construction of any will or other\ntestamentary disposition or of any instrument creating a trust;\nor\n(c) for the purpose of an application under the Family Provision\nAct 1970,\nbe recognized only if:\n(d) the father and the mother of the child were married to each\nother at the time of its conception or at some subsequent time;\n(e) paternity has been admitted (expressly or by implication) by\nthe father and if that purpose is for the benefit of the father,\npaternity has been admitted while the child was living; or\n(f) paternity has been established by or against the father.\n(2) In any case where, by reason of the provisions of subsection (1),\nthe relationship of father and child is not recognized at the time the\nchild is born, the occurrence of any act, event or conduct which\nenables that relationship and any other relationship traced in any\ndegree through it to be recognized shall not affect any estate, right\nor interest in any real or personal property to which any person has\nbecome absolutely entitled, whether beneficially or otherwise,\nbefore the act, event or conduct occurred.\n\nPart IV Establishment of paternity and maternity\nStatus of Children Act 1978 8\nPart IV Establishment of paternity and maternity\n9 Presumptions of parentage arising from registration of birth\nIf a person's name is entered as a parent of a child in the register of\nbirths or parentage information kept under a law of the Territory, the\nCommonwealth, a State or another Territory of the Commonwealth\nor a prescribed overseas jurisdiction, the person is presumed to be\na parent of the child.\n9A Presumptions of paternity arising from acknowledgments\n(1) If:\n(a) under subsection (2) or another law of the Territory, the\nCommonwealth, a State or another Territory of the\nCommonwealth or a prescribed overseas jurisdiction, a man\nhas executed an instrument acknowledging that he is the\nfather of a specified child; and\n(b) the instrument has not been annulled or otherwise set aside,\nthe man is presumed to be the father of the child.\n(2) Where an instrument is signed by the parent of a child and by a\nman acknowledging that he is the other parent of the child and the\ninstrument:\n(a) is executed as a deed; or\n(b) is signed jointly or severally by each of those persons in the\npresence of a legal practitioner,\nthe persons named are presumed to be the parents of the child.\n9B Parentage arising from findings of courts\n(1) If:\n(a) during the lifetime of a particular person, a prescribed court\nhas:\n(i) found expressly that the person is a parent of a\nparticular child; or\n(ii) made a finding that it could not have made unless the\nperson was a parent of a particular child; and\n(b) the finding has not been altered, set aside or reversed,\nthe person is taken to be a parent of the child.\n\nPart IV Establishment of paternity and maternity\nStatus of Children Act 1978 9\n(2) If:\n(a) after the death of a particular person, a prescribed court has:\n(i) found expressly that the person was a parent of a\nparticular child; or\n(ii) made a finding that it could not have made unless the\nperson was a parent of a particular child; and\n(b) the finding has not been altered, set aside or reversed,\nthe person is presumed to be a parent of the child.\n10 Instruments filed with district Registrar\n(1) An instrument of the kind described in section 9A(2) or a copy\nthereof may on payment of the prescribed fee, if any, be filed in the\noffice of the Registrar.\n(2) The Registrar shall cause indexes of all instruments and copies\nfiled with him under subsection (1) to be made and kept in his office\nand shall, upon request made by or on behalf of a party to an\ninstrument so filed or a child referred to in any such instrument or a\nguardian or relative of that child, cause a search of any index to be\nmade and shall permit that person to inspect any such instrument\nor copy where the Registrar is satisfied that the person has a direct\nand proper interest in the matter.\n(3) If the Supreme Court makes a declaration of paternity under\nsection 11 or of maternity under section 12 or revokes such a\ndeclaration, an Associate Judge must forward a copy of the\ndeclaration or revocation to the Registrar for filing under this section\nand on receipt of any such copy the Registrar shall file it\naccordingly as if it were an instrument of the kind referred to in\nsection 9A(2).\n11 Paternity\n(1) A person who:\n(a) alleges that a named person is the father of her child;\n(b) alleges that the relationship of father and child exists between\nthat person and any other named person; or\n(c) being a person having a proper interest in the result, wishes to\nhave it determined whether the relationship of father and child\nexists between 2 named persons,\n\nPart IV Establishment of paternity and maternity\nStatus of Children Act 1978 10\nmay apply to the Supreme Court for a declaration of paternity and,\nif it is proved to the satisfaction of the Court that the relationship\nexists, the Court may make a declaration of paternity whether or not\nthe father or the child or both of them are living or dead.\n(2) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1), the Court may refuse to\nhear an application for a declaration of paternity if it is of opinion\nthat it is not just or proper to do so.\n(3) Where a declaration has been made under subsection (1) and it\nappears to the Court that new facts or circumstances have arisen\nthat have not previously been disclosed to a court and could not, by\nthe exercise of reasonable diligence, have previously been known,\nthe Court may revoke such declaration which shall, upon\nrevocation, cease to have any force or effect.\n12 Maternity\n(1) Any person who:\n(a) alleges that any named person is the mother of his child;\n(b) alleges that the relationship of mother and child exists\nbetween that person and any other named person; or\n(c) being a person having a proper interest in the result, wishes to\nhave it determined whether the relationship of mother and\nchild exists between 2 named persons,\nmay apply to the Supreme Court for a declaration of maternity and,\nif it is proved to the satisfaction of the Court that the relationship\nexists, the Court may make a declaration of maternity whether or\nnot the mother or the child or both of them are living or dead.\n(2) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1), the Court may refuse to\nhear an application for a declaration of maternity if it is of the\nopinion that it is not just or proper to do so.\n(3) Where a declaration has been made under subsection (1) and it\nappears to the Court that new facts or circumstances have arisen\nthat have not previously been disclosed to a court and could not, by\nthe exercise of reasonable diligence, have previously been known,\nthe Court may revoke such declaration which shall, upon\nrevocation, cease to have any force or effect.\n\nPart V Parentage testing\nStatus of Children Act 1978 11\nPart V Parentage testing\n13 Medical procedures to determine parentage\n(1) Where the parentage of a child is in issue in proceedings before a\ncourt, the Court may:\n(a) on the request of a party to the proceedings;\n(b) on the request of a person representing the child; or\n(c) of its own motion,\nmake an order requiring a parentage testing procedure to be\ncarried out in relation to a person referred to in subsection (2) for\nthe purpose of obtaining information to assist in determining the\nparentage of the child.\n(2) The order under subsection (1) may be made in relation to:\n(a) the child;\n(b) a person believed by the Court to be the mother of the child;\nor\n(c) any other person where the Court is of the opinion that the\ninformation that could be obtained if the parentage testing\nprocedure were to be carried out in relation to the person\nmight assist in determining the parentage of the child.\n(3) The order under subsection (1) may be made subject to terms and\nconditions.\n(4) Where a court makes an order under subsection (1) the Court may:\n(a) make such orders as it considers necessary or desirable:\n(i) to enable the parentage testing procedure to be carried\nout; or\n(ii) to make the parentage testing procedure more effective\nor reliable,\nincluding, but not limited to, orders requiring a person to\nsubmit to a medical procedure, to provide a bodily sample or\nto furnish information relevant to the person's medical or\nfamily history; and\n\nPart V Parentage testing\nStatus of Children Act 1978 12\n(b) make such orders as it thinks fit in relation to costs incurred in\nrelation to:\n(i) the carrying out of the parentage testing procedure or\nother orders made by the Court in relation to the\nparentage testing procedure; or\n(ii) the preparation of reports in relation to the information\nobtained as a result of the carrying out of the parentage\ntesting procedure.\n(5) Where a person who has attained the age of 18 years contravenes\nan order under this section, the person is not liable to any penalty in\nrelation to the contravention, but the Court may draw such\ninferences as it thinks fit in the circumstances.\n(6) Where an order under this section is directed to a child who has not\nattained the age of 18 years, a medical procedure or other act must\nnot be carried out in relation to the child under the order unless a\nguardian of the child consents to the medical procedure or act\nbeing carried out, but the Court may draw such inferences from a\nfailure or refusal to consent as the Court thinks fit in the\ncircumstances.\n(7) If a guardian of the child consents to a medical procedure or other\nact being carried out in relation to the child under the order, a\nperson who carries out, or assists in the carrying out of, the medical\nprocedure or act is not liable to any civil or criminal action in relation\nto the proper carrying out of the medical procedure or act.\n14 Matters to be taken into account in making determination\n(1) Before making a determination under section 13 the Court may, if it\nthinks that to do so would be in the best interest of the child,\nappoint a fit and proper person to act as the litigation guardian of\nthe child.\n(2) In deciding whether to give a direction under section 13, the Court\nshall:\n(a) consider and determine all objections made by a party to the\nproceedings on account of medical, religious or other grounds;\nand\n(b) if it determines that an objection is valid, take the objection\ninto account in arriving at its decision.\n\nPart VI Miscellaneous\nStatus of Children Act 1978 13\n15 Reports of medical procedure\n(1) A report made in accordance with regulations made for the\npurposes of section 13 may be received in evidence in proceedings\nunder this Act.\n(2) Where a report referred to in subsection (1) is received in evidence\nin proceedings under this Act, the Court may:\n(a) on the request of a party to the proceedings;\n(b) on the request of a person representing the relevant child; or\n(c) of its own motion,\nmake an order requiring the person who made the report, or any\nperson whose evidence may be relevant in relation to the report, to\nappear before the Court and give evidence in relation to it.\nPart VI Miscellaneous\n16 Presumptions of law\n(1) A presumption arising under this Act is rebuttable by proof on a\nbalance of probabilities.\n(2) Where:\n(a) 2 or more presumptions arising under this Act are relevant in\nany proceeding; and\n(b) those presumptions, or some of those presumptions, conflict\nwith each other and are not rebutted in the proceeding,\nthe presumption that appears to the Court to be the more or most\nlikely to be correct prevails.\n(3) To avoid doubt, subsections (1), (2) and (4) do not apply to\nsections 5D(1), 5DA(1), 5F and 9B(1).\n(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a prosecutor may\nnot, in any criminal proceedings, rely on a presumption arising\nunder this Act to prove the parentage of a child.\n17 Closed courts\n(1) Unless the Court otherwise orders, the hearing of an application\nmade under this Act shall be in closed court.\n\nPart VI Miscellaneous\nStatus of Children Act 1978 14\n(2) A person shall not publish, whether in a newspaper, magazine,\njournal or other periodical publication, or by radio or television or\notherwise, the name of or any particulars relating to the identity of\nany person by, or in relation to, whom proceedings are taken under\nthis Act without the authority of the Court before which such\nproceedings are taken.\nMaximum penalty: 40 penalty units.\n18 Regulations\nThe Administrator may make regulations not inconsistent with this\nAct for or with respect to:\n(a) forms for the purposes of this Act;\n(aa) the carrying out of parentage testing procedures under orders\nmade under section 13;\n(ab) the preparation of reports in relation to the information\nobtained as the result of the carrying out of procedures under\norders made under section 13;\n(b) fees to be charged under this Act; and\n(c) generally, all matters required or permitted by this Act to be\nprescribed and all matters that are necessary or convenient\nfor the proper administration of this Act or to achieve the\nobject and purposes of this Act.\n\nENDNOTES\nStatus of Children Act 1978 15\nENDNOTES\n1 KEY\nKey to abbreviations\namd = amended od = order\napp = appendix om = omitted\nbl = by-law pt = Part\nch = Chapter r = regulation/rule\ncl = clause rem = remainder\ndiv = Division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired rep = repealed\nf = forms s = section\nGaz = Gazette sch = Schedule\nhdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision\nins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation\nlt = long title sub = substituted\nnc = not commenced\n2 LIST OF LEGISLATION\nStatus of Children Act 1978 (Act No. 16, 1979)\nAssent date 26 January 1979\nCommenced 21 September 1979 (Gaz G38, 21 September 1979, p 1)\nStatute Law Revision Act (No. 2) 1979 (Act No. 128, 1979)\nAssent date 15 October 1979\nCommenced 15 October 1979\nStatus of Children Amendment Act 1985 (Act No. 40, 1985)\nAssent date 18 September 1985\nCommenced 1 November 1985 (Gaz G43, 30 October 1985, p 2)\nStatute Law Revision Act 1988 (Act No. 66, 1988)\nAssent date 22 December 1988\nCommenced 22 December 1988\nStatute Law Revision Act 1990 (Act No. 33, 1990)\nAssent date 11 June 1990\nCommenced 11 June 1990\nStatus of Children Act 1996 (Act No. 16, 1996)\nAssent date 19 April 1996\nCommenced 1 July 1996 (Gaz S15, 13 June 1996)\nBirths, Deaths and Marriages Registration (Consequential Amendments) Act 1996 (Act\nNo. 27, 1996)\nAssent date 28 June 1996\nCommenced 1 January 1997 (s 2, s 2 Births, Deaths and Marriages\nRegistration Act 1996 (Act No. 26, 1996) and Gaz G49,\n4 December 1996, p 5)\n\nENDNOTES\nStatus of Children Act 1978 16\nStatute Law Revision Act (No. 2) 2003 (Act No. 44, 2003)\nAssent date 7 July 2003\nCommenced 7 July 2003\nLaw Reform (Gender, Sexuality and De Facto Relationships) Act 2003 (Act No. 1, 2004)\nAssent date 7 January 2004\nCommenced 17 March 2004 (Gaz G11, 17 March 2004, p 8)\nJustice Legislation Amendment (Penalties) Act 2010 (Act No. 12, 2010)\nAssent date 20 May 2010\nCommenced 1 July 2010 (Gaz G24, 16 June 2010, p 2)\nStatute Law Revision Act 2014 (Act No. 38, 2014)\nAssent date 13 November 2014\nCommenced 13 November 2014\nSupreme Court Amendment (Associate Judges) Act 2017 (Act No. 18, 2017)\nAssent date 5 September 2017\nCommenced 22 November 2017 (Gaz S84, 21 November 2017, p 1)\nSurrogacy Act 2022 (Act No. 8, 2022)\nAssent date 26 May 2022\nCommenced 20 December 2022 (Gaz S66, 20 December 2022)\n3 SAVINGS AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS\ns 15 Status of Children Amendment Act 1996 (Act No. 16, 1996)\n4 GENERAL AMENDMENTS\nGeneral amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table\nof amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation\nAmendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22, 2018) to: ss 1, 3, 7 and 8.\n5 LIST OF AMENDMENTS\nlt amd No. 16, 1996, s 4\ns 2A ins No. 16, 1996, s 5\ns 3 amd No. 66, 1988, s 5; No. 16, 1996, s 6; No. 27, 1996, s 7\ns 4 amd No. 16, 1996, s 7\ns 4A ins No. 16, 1996, s 8\ns 5 sub No. 16, 1996, s 8\npt IIA hdg ins No. 40, 1985, s 4\nss 5A – 5C ins No. 40, 1985, s 4\ns 5D ins No. 40, 1985, s 4\namd No. 8, 2022, s 72\ns 5DA ins No. 1, 2004, s 41\namd No. 8, 2022, s 73\ns 5E ins No. 40, 1985, s 4\ns 5F ins No. 40, 1985, s 4\nsub No. 8, 2022, s 74\ns 7 amd No. 44, 2003, s 3\ns 9 sub No. 16, 1996, s 9\ns 9A ins No. 16, 1996, s 9\n\nENDNOTES\nStatus of Children Act 1978 17\ns 9B ins No. 16, 1996, s 9\namd No. 8, 2022, s 75\ns 10 amd No. 128, 1979, s 31; No. 66, 1988, s 5; No. 16, 1996, s 10; No. 38,\n2014, s 2; No. 18, 2017, s 36\npt V hdg sub No. 16, 1996, s 11\ns 13 amd No. 33, 1990, s 9\nsub No. 16, 1996, s 11\nss 14 – 15 sub No. 16, 1996, s 11\ns 16 amd No. 33, 1990, s 9; No. 16, 1996, s 12; No. 8, 2022, s 76\ns 17 amd No. 16, 1996, s 13; No. 12, 2010, s 3\ns 18 amd No. 16, 1996, s 14\ns 19 rep No. 44, 2003, s 3\ns 20 rep No. 66, 1988, s 5\nsch rep No. 44, 2003, s 3","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act’s scope has been expanded and refined since 1978 by later amendments reflected in the text. Notably, assisted reproduction provisions (ss 5A–5F) were inserted (Status of Children Amendment Act 1985), a rule for female de facto partners was added (s 5DA, Law Reform (Gender, Sexuality and De Facto Relationships) Act 2003), and further amendments (including those noted in 2022) adjusted the parentage rules and other provisions (see the endnotes and list of amendments). The original framework (determining parent–child status and abolishing the 'legitimate only' construction, s 4) remains, but the Act now explicitly covers assisted reproductive technology outcomes, de facto partnerships, registration/acknowledgement processes, and parentage testing and reporting procedures (ss 5A–5F, 5DA, 9A, 13–15, 18). These additions broaden the situations in which statutory presumptions operate and introduce new procedural and evidentiary mechanisms (testing, court powers, regulatory detail)."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple overlapping presumptions of parentage (marriage, cohabitation, registration, acknowledgements, court findings) requiring rules for conflict and rebuttal (ss 4A, 5, 9, 9A, 9B, 16).","Specialised rules for assisted reproduction (Part IIIA: ss 5A–5F, 5DA) that interact with conventional presumptions and with donor status.","Judicial discretion to refuse applications, to order tests, to allocate costs, and to revoke declarations (ss 11–13) creates case-by-case variability.","Interplay with administrative processes (Registrar filing, restricted access, prescribed fees) and estate law protections for trustees/executors (ss 7, 10).","Regulatory dependence for operational detail (testing procedures and reports) — outcomes hinge on delegated rules (s 18; s 15).","Consent rules and evidential consequences around parentage testing (s 13) that differ by age and role (adult, child, guardian, medical practitioner).","Exceptions to rebuttal principles and limits on use of presumptions in criminal proceedings (s 16(3)–(4)).","Temporal and transitional provisions preserving pre-commencement instruments and estates and treating earlier instruments differently (s 6; s 5B(2))."],"plain_english_summary":"# What this law does (mechanically)\n\n- Establishes how the law determines who is a child's mother or father for Northern Territory law (s 4). It removes the old rule that words like \"legitimate\" only refer to children born in marriage (s 4(2)–(3)).\n- Creates a set of legal \"presumptions\" about parentage that operate unless rebutted (for example, child born during a marriage is presumed to be the child of the husband: s 4A; presumptions from cohabitation: s 5; presumptions from registration or acknowledgements: ss 9, 9A; court findings: s 9B).\n- Sets special rules for children conceived by assisted reproduction (Part IIIA). Key outcomes in that Part include:\n  - The woman who gives birth is the mother even if the ovum came from another woman (s 5C).\n  - Where a married woman becomes pregnant with her husband’s consent to the fertilisation procedure, the husband is taken to be the father; where semen used was not the husband’s, the man who provided that semen is taken not to be the father (s 5D(1)–(3); s 5F).\n  - Where a woman is the de facto partner of another woman and consents, the other woman is taken to be a parent of the unborn child and any child born (s 5DA(1), (3)).\n  - A woman who provided the ovum is not the mother of a child conceived using that ovum (s 5E).\n- Gives the Supreme Court power to declare or revoke paternity and maternity (ss 11–12), including refusing to hear an application if it is not \"just or proper\" (ss 11(2), 12(2)). Declarations can be revoked if new, previously unknowable facts appear (ss 11(3), 12(3)).\n- Permits courts to order parentage testing procedures and related steps (s 13). Courts may also order persons to submit samples, provide medical/family history, and impose conditions; and may allocate testing and report costs between parties (s 13(3)–(4)).\n- Regulates consent and consequences for testing:\n  - Adults who defy a court order to submit to testing face no criminal penalty but the court may draw adverse inferences (s 13(5)).\n  - For a child under 18, a guardian’s consent is needed for testing, and the court may draw inferences from refusal (s 13(6)).\n  - A person who carries out a medical procedure with a guardian’s consent is immune from civil or criminal liability in relation to properly carrying out the procedure (s 13(7)).\n- Provides for filing of parentage instruments with the Registrar, indexed and available only to people with a \"direct and proper interest\" (s 10(1)–(2)); instruments require payment of any prescribed fee (s 10(1)).\n- Limits recognition of father–child relationships for succession and trust constructions to particular circumstances (married parents, admissions of paternity, or paternity established by/against the father) (s 8).\n- Protects executors, administrators and trustees from liability for distributions made without notice of a relationship recognized only by this Act (s 7).\n- Makes presumptions rebuttable on the balance of probabilities (s 16(1)), but identifies some exceptions where that regime does not apply (s 16(3)). Presumptions under this Act cannot be used by prosecutors in criminal proceedings to prove parentage (s 16(4)).\n- Defaults to closed hearings and prohibits publishing names or identifying details of participants without court authority, with a monetary penalty for breaches (s 17(1)–(2)).\n- Empowers the Administrator to make regulations governing forms, how parentage testing is carried out and reported, and fees (s 18).\n\n# Who this affects\n\n- Children whose parentage is in issue, and the people asserting or denying parentage (mothers, fathers, partners, donors) — e.g. ss 4, 4A, 5, 5C–5F, 5DA, 9, 9A, 9B.\n- Courts and registrars who make declarations, order testing, file instruments and restrict access (ss 10–13, 15, 17).\n- Executors, administrators and trustees who administer estates and trusts (s 7).\n- Medical practitioners and laboratories who carry out parentage testing and produce reports (s 13(4)(a), s 15; regulations in s 18(aa)–(ab)).\n\n# Why it matters (in practical terms)\n\n- The Act sets default legal positions that determine inheritance, trust entitlements, parental rights and obligations, and registration records (s 8; ss 9–10; s 6). Those legal positions can be changed by court declaration, rebuttal of presumptions, or by complying with specific formalities (e.g. acknowledgements in s 9A).\n- It creates legal certainty by making certain relationships presumptive (reducing litigation in some cases) but also provides courts with tools (testing orders, declarations, revocations) to resolve contested cases (ss 11–13). The court’s discretion (ss 11(2), 12(2)) means not every factual dispute will be litigated to a declaration.\n\n# Costs, incentives, trade-offs, compliance burdens and discretion (mechanisms and sections cited)\n\n- Who pays and cost allocation: the Court may order who pays for parentage testing and related reports (s 13(4)(b)). That creates a litigation cost risk for applicants and respondents depending on the Court’s exercise of discretion.\n- Incentives to consent or refuse testing: adults who refuse a court-ordered test incur no criminal sanction, but the Court may draw adverse inferences from refusal (s 13(5)). For children, guardian consent is required (s 13(6)); refusal can also lead to inferences. These rules shift the practical incentive toward cooperation, but do not compel physical sanction.\n- Privacy and confidentiality: hearings are in closed court by default and publication of identifying details is prohibited without court authority; breach carries a penalty (s 17(1)–(2)). This restricts public scrutiny and manages privacy risk for parties.\n- Effect on private arrangements (assisted reproduction): statutory presumptions (s 5D, s 5DA, ss 5E–5F) formalise the legal consequences of certain private choices (e.g. husband’s or de facto partner’s consent to a fertilisation procedure) and remove parentage from donors in particular circumstances. Those rules convert some informal reproductive arrangements into recognised parentage outcomes.\n- Estate administration burden: executors and trustees are not obliged to investigate relationships created only by this Act and are protected from liability where they had no notice (s 7). That reduces administrative burden and potential litigation risk for fiduciaries but can leave claimants who are unknown at the time of distribution with fewer remedies against the administrator (s 7(1)–(2)).\n- Judicial discretion and uncertainty: the Court may refuse to hear applications it finds not \"just or proper\" (ss 11(2), 12(2)) and can revoke declarations on new evidence (ss 11(3), 12(3)). This gives judges substantial case-by-case discretion, which creates resolution flexibility but some unpredictability about outcomes.\n- Regulatory dependence and implementation risk: the operation of testing orders and admissible reports is tied to regulations made by the Administrator (s 18; s 15(1)). Practical operation of testing, standards of reports and fees depend on those regulations (s 18(aa),(ab),(b)).\n\n# Concrete trade-offs to note (source-grounded)\n\n- The Act trades off automatic recognition (through presumptions) for litigation tools: presumptions reduce the need for proof (ss 4A, 5, 9), while court powers (ss 11–13) allow factual correction.\n- It concentrates legal recognition on people who satisfy statutory conditions (marriage/cohabitation, registration, acknowledgements, consent in assisted reproduction) (ss 4A, 5, 9, 9A, 5D, 5DA). People outside those categories may face higher barriers to recognition (ss 8, 11–12).\n- Procedural protections (closed court, restricted access to Registrar indexes) protect privacy (s 17; s 10(2)) but also limit public verification of claims.\n\n(References are to sections of the Status of Children Act 1978 as reproduced above.)"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The legislation has grown significantly beyond its original 1978 scope. Originally focused on abolishing the legal distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children and basic paternity presumptions, it has expanded through multiple amendments (particularly 1985, 1996, 2004, and 2022) to encompass: assisted reproductive technology including IVF and artificial insemination (Part IIIA added 1985); parentage testing and DNA evidence procedures (Part V substantially rewritten 1996); explicit recognition of female de facto partners as parents (section 5DA added 2004); and integration with modern surrogacy frameworks (2022 amendments). The property protection provisions (Part III) have also been modified to accommodate these expanded parentage rules."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple overlapping presumptions of parentage across different sections (marriage, cohabitation, birth registration, acknowledgments, court findings) with specific timeframes (44 weeks, 20 weeks, 3 months)","Complex conditional logic in Part IIIA regarding assisted reproduction, distinguishing between married couples, de facto female couples, and unmarried women with different parentage outcomes","Interaction between this Act and other legislation (Family Law Act 1975, Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996, Family Provision Act 1970, Surrogacy Act 2022) requiring cross-referencing","Specific exceptions to general rules: section 16(3) explicitly excludes certain sections from the general rebuttable presumption framework","Transitional provisions protecting property rights vested before certain amendment dates (sections 6, 8(2), 5B(2))","Dual standards of proof: 'proof on a balance of probabilities' for most presumptions versus 'taken to be' (conclusive) language for certain assisted reproduction provisions","Nested definitions in section 3 and 5A, including culturally specific definition of 'marriage' encompassing Aboriginal traditional marriages"],"plain_english_summary":"This Northern Territory law, originally passed in 1978 but updated many times since, sets out the legal rules for determining who a child's parents are. It covers both traditional family situations and modern assisted reproduction.\n\n**What it does:**\n\n*   **Equal treatment of children:** The law abolishes the old distinction between \"legitimate\" children (born to married parents) and \"illegitimate\" children (born to unmarried parents). For all legal purposes in the NT, a child's relationship to their parents is determined the same way regardless of whether the parents were married.\n\n*   **Presumptions about parentage:** The law creates legal assumptions (presumptions) about who the parents are:\n    *   If a woman is married when she gives birth, her husband is presumed to be the father.\n    *   If a child is born within 44 weeks of a marriage ending (by death, annulment, or separation after a brief reconciliation), the former husband is presumed to be the father.\n    *   If a man and woman lived together during a specific window before the birth (between 44 and 20 weeks prior), the man is presumed to be the father.\n    *   If a person's name is registered as a parent on a birth certificate, they are presumed to be the parent.\n\n*   **Assisted reproduction (IVF, artificial insemination):** Special rules apply when children are conceived through medical procedures:\n    *   The woman who gives birth is always the legal mother, even if the egg came from another woman.\n    *   If a married woman undergoes a fertilization procedure with her husband's consent, the husband is the legal father, and the sperm donor is not.\n    *   If a woman in a de facto (unmarried) relationship with another woman undergoes a procedure with her partner's consent, the partner is also a legal parent.\n    *   Sperm donors are generally not considered fathers unless they are the husband of the woman receiving treatment.\n\n*   **Property and inheritance:** The law protects people who deal with property (executors, trustees) from claims by previously unknown children, provided they had no notice of the relationship. It also sets special rules for recognizing paternity in wills and inheritance matters.\n\n*   **Court declarations:** People can apply to the Supreme Court for a formal declaration stating who a child's mother or father is. The Court can order DNA testing (parentage testing) to help decide, but must consider the child's best interests and any religious or medical objections.\n\n*   **Privacy:** Court hearings under this Act are held in private (closed court), and it is an offence to publish identifying details of people involved in proceedings.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\nAnyone in the Northern Territory who needs to establish legal parentage—whether for inheritance, child support, custody, or personal identity. It particularly affects unmarried parents, same-sex couples using assisted reproduction, and people involved in surrogacy or donor conception arrangements.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis law ensures that children have equal legal status regardless of their parents' marital status, while providing clear rules for modern family formation through assisted reproduction. It balances the rights of children to know their origins with protections for donors and the stability of property transactions."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/status-of-children-act-1978","history":"/api/acts/status-of-children-act-1978/history","analysis":"/api/acts/status-of-children-act-1978/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/status-of-children-act-1978/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/status-of-children-act-1978/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/status-of-children-act-1978/documents"}}