Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 · Updated to 15 Dec 2018 · Part VIII · Protection of Children
88. Power for court to make order for custody
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The court may give the father or mother custody of a child. In exceptional cases, custody may go to another relative, a child welfare group or another suitable person. The child's welfare comes first. A child below the age of seven years is presumed better off with the mother, unless shown otherwise. Siblings may be placed with different people.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
The court may at any time by order place a child in the custody of his or her father or his or her mother or, where there are exceptional circumstances making it undesirable that the child be entrusted to either parent, of any other relative of the child or of any association the objects of which include child welfare or to any other suitable person.
court
“court” means the High Court or a Judge thereof or, where a Sessions Court Judge has jurisdiction by virtue of subsection (2), the Sessions Court or a Sessions Court Judge of that Court;
In deciding in whose custody a child should be placed the paramount consideration shall be the welfare of the child and subject to this the court shall have regard—
child
“child” has the meaning of “child of the marriage” as defined in section 2 who is under the age of eighteen years. Power for court to make order for custody
to the wishes of the parents of the child; and
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to the wishes of the child, where he or she is of an age to express an independent opinion.
There shall be a rebuttable presumption that it is for the good of a child below the age of seven years to be with his or her mother but in deciding whether that presumption applies to the facts of any particular case, the court shall have regard to the undesirability of disturbing the life of a child by changes of custody.
Where there are two or more children of a marriage, the court shall not be bound to place both or all in the custody of the same person but shall consider the welfare of each independently.