Grandparents and grandchildren: what can you do when contact stops?
When a family separates — or a relationship with an adult child breaks down — grandparents can find themselves suddenly cut off from grandchildren they helped raise. The short answer is that there is no automatic right, but there is real standing. Here is what the law actually says, and the sensible order in which to use it.
Michael NahoumPrincipal Solicitor · 3 August 2026 · 6 min read
Photo: royalty-free and copyright-free, sourced from Pexels.
It is a quiet kind of grief, and a common one. The weekly sleepovers stop. The school pickups are reallocated. Calls go unanswered, and birthdays pass with a card returned unopened. Grandparents in this position often assume the law has nothing for them — that whatever the parents decide is final.
That assumption is wrong.
Australian family law does not give grandparents an automatic right to time with grandchildren. Nobody, including parents, has “rights” over children in that sense. But the Family Law Act 1975 expressly recognises grandparents and gives them standing to seek parenting orders.
The system's fixed star applies here as everywhere: the best interests of the child come first.
What the law actually says
Under the Family Law Act 1975, a grandparent can apply to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for parenting orders about a grandchild. Those orders may provide that the child spend time with the grandparent, communicate with the grandparent, or, in some circumstances, live with the grandparent.
Grandparents are expressly named in the Act as people who may apply for parenting orders, alongside any other person concerned with the care, welfare and development of a child.
The law also recognises something grandparents often feel instinctively: children may benefit from relationships with people who are significant in their lives, not only their parents. When the Court weighs a child's best interests, the value of a safe, loving and established relationship with a grandparent is a real consideration — alongside the child's safety, the child's views where relevant, the child's developmental and emotional needs, each carer's capacity, and the practicalities of any arrangement.
Grandparents' position at a glance
No automatic right — but grandparents have express standing to apply for parenting orders.
Spend-time and communication orders — often the most common request: regular, workable contact with a grandchild.
Live-with orders and parental responsibility — available where that arrangement is in the child's best interests, including where parents cannot safely or adequately care for the child.
Mediation first — family dispute resolution is generally required before most contested parenting applications, with exceptions for urgency, family violence, child abuse or risk.
Best interests decide — every order turns on what is best for the child, not what is fair between the adults.
The sensible order of steps
Start with a conversation, if it is safe to have one. Court is a poor first resort in family relationships that have to survive the case.
A calm, child-focused approach — sometimes a considered letter rather than a fraught phone call — resolves more of these situations than people expect. What does not help is criticising the parents' choices, litigating old grievances, or putting the children in the middle.
Then comes family dispute resolution. Before most contested parenting applications can be filed, the law generally requires a genuine attempt at mediation with a family dispute resolution practitioner, unless an exception applies. If the matter does not resolve, the practitioner can issue a certificate.
Exceptions apply, including urgency, family violence, child abuse or risk. But for many grandparent matters, mediation is not just a formality. It is where many of them quietly succeed.
Court comes next, if it comes to that. If mediation fails or is not appropriate, a grandparent can apply for parenting orders. The Court will look at the whole picture: the history of the relationship with the children, why contact stopped, the parents' concerns, any safety issues, and above all what arrangement serves the children's best interests.
Orders for regular time, school-holiday time, phone calls or video calls are all realistic outcomes where the relationship is positive and the arrangement is safe and workable.
Grandparents raising grandchildren
A significant number of NSW grandparents are not fighting for visits. They are doing the school runs, packing the lunches and raising their grandchildren full-time, often after illness, addiction, family violence, incapacity or a death in the family.
Informal care works until it does not. Schools, doctors, Centrelink, Medicare and government agencies may eventually want to know who has authority to make decisions.
Parenting orders can put these arrangements on a legal footing. That may include orders that the children live with their grandparents, and orders giving grandparents parental responsibility so they can make decisions about education, medical care and other major long-term issues.
If you are in this position, it is usually better to clarify legal authority before a school, doctor or agency refuses to act on an informal arrangement.
How Michael Campbell Law can help
Michael acts for grandparents across the Hills District and Sydney — from carefully worded first letters, through mediation, to court where nothing else will do.
It starts with a free 15-minute phone call: a no-obligation introduction so Michael can tell you whether he can assist and what the sensible next step is.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. It describes the law as at August 2026 in general terms. Outcomes in parenting matters depend on the particular children, risks, relationships and circumstances involved. For advice about your situation, contact Michael Campbell Law or another qualified solicitor.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Do grandparents have automatic rights to see their grandchildren in Australia?
There is no automatic legal right.
But grandparents are expressly recognised in the Family Law Act 1975. They can apply to the Court for orders that a child spend time with or communicate with them. The law also recognises the benefit to children of relationships with people who are significant to them, where those relationships are safe and in the child's best interests.
Whether orders are made always depends on what is best for the child.
Can grandparents have a grandchild live with them full-time?
In some circumstances, yes.
Where it is in the child's best interests, grandparents can apply for parenting orders that the child live with them. They can also seek parental responsibility, so they can make decisions about schooling, medical care and other major long-term issues.
This may arise where parents are unable to care for a child because of illness, incapacity, family violence, substance abuse, death, serious instability or other difficulties. Many grandparents in NSW raise grandchildren informally; parenting orders can give those arrangements proper legal footing.
Do we have to try mediation before going to court?
Generally, yes. Before most contested parenting proceedings can be started, a genuine attempt at family dispute resolution is usually required, with a certificate issued if the matter does not resolve.
Exceptions exist, including urgency, family violence, child abuse and risk.
Mediation is often where these matters are actually solved. A structured conversation can sometimes restore contact without anyone going to court.
What should I do first if I am being kept from my grandchildren?
Start with the least confrontational step that is safe: a calm conversation or a considered letter, focused on the children rather than the dispute with the parents.
If that goes nowhere, family dispute resolution is usually the next step, and court may follow if mediation fails or is not appropriate.
Keep a simple record of contact and attempted contact. Stay child-focused in every message. Avoid criticising the parents to or through the children. Early, measured steps usually put the matter in its strongest position.
Talk it through in a free 15-minute phone call — no cost, no obligation, and an honest answer on whether Michael can assist and the sensible next step.
