Children’s Covid jab: What you need to know about consent

Unsure how to navigate gaining consent from your ex for a child’s Covid jab or seeking an exemption? Legal eagle Pippa Colman explains what you need to know:

Do I need my ex partner’s consent before I vaccinate our child against Covid?

If you and your former partner have joint parental responsibility, then the answer is yes.

If there are no court orders in place or the court has ordered that you and your ex have joint parental responsibility, then you must consult and make a genuine effort to reach agreement with your ex.

Parental responsibility relates to long-term decision making for a child, including matters relating to their education, religion, name, changes to their living arrangements which makes it more difficult for them to see a parent and their health (which includes whether a child is vaccinated).

If the court has ordered that you have sole parental responsibility for your child, you do not need your ex partner’s consent to vaccinate your child.

What if we cannot agree about vaccinating/ not vaccinating our child?

The court has the power to order that a child be vaccinated despite a parent’s objection to vaccination.

You must comply with pre action procedures required by Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia before you can file an application in the court.

Pippa Colman, Founding Director of Pippa Colman & Associates Law Practice

If you cannot reach agreement with your ex by negotiation ie talking or texting / emailing, then the next step is to invite your ex to participate in family dispute resolution.

Thereafter, the next step is to commence proceedings in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia where you can seek an order that your child be vaccinated.

You must file documents including your application and an affidavit in support of the orders you seek.

If your application is that your child should or should not be vaccinated, you must also file medical evidence to support your case.

The court will make a decision based on your child’s best interests.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'Ath receives her second AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine jab at a pharmacy in Brisbane.Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The current government advice is that anyone over five years old should get vaccinated.

Unless there is a medical reason (such as an underlying health issue) as to why a child should not be vaccinated and evidence about that is filed, it is unlikely that an application opposing vaccination will succeed.

There may be a costs order made against a party who opposes vaccination without compelling medical evidence that this is in a child’s best interests.

Take advice from an accredited Family Law Specialist solicitor to ensure that your application has good prospects of success.

Pippa Colman is the founding director of Pippa Colman & Associates Law Practice.

Originally published as Children’s Covid jab: What you need to know about consent