Medical Consent Grandparent NSW and Medicare Card

The Emergency Rule: Doctors Do Not Need Your Consent

In an urgent situation — such as a life-threatening injury or an anaphylactic reaction — a medical practitioner may treat without consent under Section 174 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW) if the practitioner considers treatment necessary to save the child's life or prevent serious damage to their health. You do not need a court order, a parenting plan or the biological parent's signature for emergency medical treatment.

This matters because grandparent carers sometimes delay taking a child to hospital because they think they lack the legal authority to consent. You do not need it. Get the child to the hospital.

Routine Medical Consent: Formal vs Informal Carers

For non-emergency care — GP visits, dental checkups, vaccinations, specialist referrals — who can consent depends on your legal status.

If you have a court order (Children's Court care order, Section 79 Guardianship Order, or Family Court parenting order granting you parental responsibility), you have the same consent authority as a parent. Sign the medical consent form. No additional documentation is needed.

If you are an informal carer (no court orders), do not assume your signature is enough. For non-emergency treatment, clinicians follow NSW Health's Consent to Medical and Healthcare Treatment Manual, considering the treatment and the child's capacity; they may seek formal parental or court authorisation.

For treatment where the clinician considers formal authority necessary, the provider may ask for written parental consent or a court order.

The Age-Based Consent Framework

NSW law recognises that children develop capacity to consent to their own medical treatment:

For grandparent carers of older teenagers, this means the young person can consent to their own routine medical care from age 16 onwards. Your role shifts from consent-giver to support person.

Getting the Child Onto Your Medicare Card

A child needs to be listed on a valid Medicare card to access bulk-billed GP visits, PBS concession medicines (with a Health Care Card) and public hospital services. If the child is currently on the biological parent's Medicare card and you cannot access it, you can:

1. Complete Form MS011 (Application to copy or transfer a person to a new or existing Medicare card) from Services Australia
2. Submit it with proof of care — an FTB customer statement, a school principal's letter, a GP letter, or a statutory declaration
3. Services Australia will issue a new Medicare card with the child listed, without needing the parent's consent or disclosing your address to the parent

You can add the child to your existing Medicare card or request a separate card in the child's name. A separate card is sometimes easier — it avoids complications if other people on your card change.

If you do not know the child's Medicare number (because it was on the parent's card), explain this on the form. Services Australia can look up the child's record using their name and date of birth.

The Foster Child Health Care Card

Separately from Medicare, you can apply for a Foster Child Health Care Card through Centrelink. This is issued in the child's name, is non-means-tested for the carer, and provides access to:

• PBS concession medicines
• Bulk-billed GP visits (where the practice bulk-bills concession card holders)
• Increased benefits for eligible out-of-hospital costs through the Extended Medicare Safety Net once the applicable threshold is reached
• Some state government concessions (transport, energy)

You do not need to be a registered foster carer to get this card. Non-parent carers — including informal grandparent carers — are eligible. Call 1800 245 965 (Grandparent Adviser line) to apply.

Keeping Records

Every medical visit, vaccination, prescription and specialist referral should be recorded. If a custody dispute arises later, or if Centrelink requests evidence of care, medical records showing you as the person bringing the child to appointments are strong proof of actual care.

The NSW Kinship Carer Support guide includes a medical consent reference sheet and a health record log — printable tools for tracking vaccinations, specialist appointments and Medicare card details across the child's care.

See more New South Wales guides →