Medical Consent for Grandparents Raising a Grandchild in the ACT

The Consent Line That Catches Everyone Out

You can take your grandchild to a GP for a cough, but you might not be able to authorise their tonsil surgery. The difference comes down to a line between routine medical care and procedures that require formal legal authority — and for kinship carers in the ACT without a court order, that line matters every time you walk into a clinic.

Understanding what you can consent to, and what you cannot, saves stressful conversations with reception staff and avoids delays in the child's care.

Routine GP Visits and Vaccinations

For standard appointments — a GP consultation, routine childhood vaccinations, dental check-ups, optometry — informal kinship carers in the ACT can generally present the child for routine care, provided you hold the child's Medicare details.

Having the child listed on your Medicare card makes it easier to provide their Medicare details. Whether a GP bulk-bills is up to the practice. If the child is still on their parent's Medicare card and you cannot access it, lodge Form MS011 with Services Australia to copy or transfer the child onto your own card.

Many Canberra GPs bulk-bill concession card holders. If you have applied for a Foster Child Health Care Card for the child — which has no income test and is available to informal carers — the child qualifies for concession-rate PBS medicines and access to the Child Dental Benefits Schedule.

Emergency Medical Treatment

In a genuine emergency, hospital clinicians in the ACT can authorise treatment required to preserve life or prevent serious health deterioration without parental or guardian consent. This is standard emergency medical doctrine and applies regardless of your legal relationship to the child.

You do not need to carry any special documentation for emergency department care. Focus on getting the child to the hospital — the consent issue does not stand in the way when the situation is urgent.

Elective Surgery and Major Procedures

This is where it gets harder. For elective surgeries, invasive diagnostic tests and major psychiatric treatments, legal consent authority remains with the person who holds parental responsibility — either the biological parents (for informal arrangements) or the CSD Director-General (for statutory placements).

If the biological parent is cooperative, a written letter of consent for a specific procedure may satisfy the treating clinician. Some specialists accept this on a case-by-case basis.

If the parent is uncontactable, uncooperative or refuses consent unreasonably, your options in the ACT are:

• Contact CYPS (02 6207 1069) if there are child protection concerns that might warrant statutory intervention
• Apply for a parenting order through the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Canberra registry), which can allocate specific medical decision-making authority to you
• Seek urgent legal advice from Legal Aid ACT (1300 654 314) about the quickest pathway to resolve the consent issue

Practical Steps to Avoid Friction

Keep a folder — physical or digital — with the following ready for any medical appointment:

• The child's Medicare card (in your name)
• The Foster Child Health Care Card
• A copy of your informal caregiver statutory declaration
• The child's immunisation history (available via AIR on myGov)
• Emergency contact details for the biological parent (if safe and appropriate)

If a GP practice or specialist gives you difficulty about consent, Carers ACT (02 6296 9965) can provide advocacy support and help you communicate your care role to health providers.

The ACT Kinship Carer Support guide includes a medical consent preparation folder checklist and step-by-step guidance on the Medicare card transfer process.

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