Medical Consent for a Grandchild in Your Care in Western Australia

Taking a grandchild to the doctor when you don't have legal parental responsibility raises an immediate question: can you actually consent to their treatment? In Western Australia, the answer depends on what kind of treatment it is.

Routine Care — You Can Consent

For everyday medical treatment — GP consultations, standard vaccinations, minor illness care, and regular check-ups — informal kinship carers providing day-to-day care can give operational consent. Doctors rely on your de facto care status. If you're the adult who lives with the child, feeds them, and takes them to appointments, you can consent to routine treatment.

No paperwork is legally required for routine GP visits, but having a letter on file at the practice that explains your care arrangement makes everything smoother. A one-page statutory declaration is enough.

Emergency Care — No Consent Needed

In a medical emergency, WA law permits doctors to provide life-saving treatment without any consent at all. You don't need a parenting order, a statutory declaration, or even to be present — the child's medical need overrides the consent question.

Complex, Elective, or Surgical Procedures — You Need More

For complex, elective, or surgical treatment, formal legal authority or parental consent is generally required. A grandparent without a parenting order or Special Guardianship Order generally cannot consent to these on their own.

Your options:

• Get the biological parent to consent — if they're contactable and willing, they can sign the consent forms directly or provide written authorisation
• Apply for a parenting order — through the Family Court of WA, this gives you formal legal authority. Legal Aid WA (1300 650 579) provides free advice
• The mature minor principle — under WA common law, a young person (typically 14–15 and older) who demonstrates sufficient understanding can consent to their own treatment independently

Setting Up the Paperwork

For day-to-day medical access, get these in place:

1. Check the child's Medicare number — the child does not need to be on your card for you to claim Medicare benefits; you need the child's Medicare number and an account or receipt listing the child as the patient. If you want to copy or transfer the child to another card, use Form MS011 and follow its signature and proof-of-care requirements. Bulk billing depends on the health professional choosing to bulk bill.
2. Give the GP a statutory declaration — a brief statement that the child lives with you and you're the primary carer. Most GP practices will note it on the child's file
3. Request My Health Record access — as a carer or family member, you can apply to the Australian Digital Health Agency to become an authorised representative. Approval depends on your relationship to the child and evidence of your authority; being the FTB claimant alone does not grant access. Authorised representative access ends when the child turns 14; the young person can then invite you as a nominated representative.
4. Get the AIR statement sorted — you'll need the Australian Immunisation Register History Statement for school enrolment anyway. Your GP can access the register directly if the biological parents hold the records

NDIS and Disability Support

If the child has a disability, the National Disability Insurance Scheme operates separately from the medical consent framework. Children under 9 can access NDIS Early Childhood Partners without a formal diagnosis. Older children need a specialist diagnosis confirming significant functional impairment.

Carer Allowance — a non-means-tested Centrelink supplement — is available if you provide constant care for a child with a severe disability or medical condition.

The WA Kinship Carer Support Guide includes the full medical consent and Medicare process alongside every payment and school step.

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