Oranga Tamariki Act 1989

Miscellaneous provisions - Miscellaneous provisions relating to proceedings under this Act

441: Court may determine age of child or young person in absence of evidence

You could also call this:

"Court can decide a child's age if it's not known"

Illustration for Oranga Tamariki Act 1989

If you are in court and there is a question about how old a child or young person is, the court can decide their age if there is not enough evidence. The age the court decides will be used for the purposes of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989. The court's decision about the child's or young person's age will be included in any orders made about their care, such as guardianship or custody orders. When the court makes an order, it must say how old the child or young person is, and if their age was decided by the court, the order will show that.

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This page was last updated on 25 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM155057.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpFamily and relationships > Children and parentingFamily and relationships > Adoption and guardianship

440: Proceedings not to be questioned for want of form, or

"Mistakes in court paperwork don't usually stop a case from happening"

442: No court fees payable, or

"You don't have to pay court fees in some cases"

Part 10Miscellaneous provisions
Miscellaneous provisions relating to proceedings under this Act

441Court may determine age of child or young person in absence of evidence

If, in any application or proceedings under this Act, the age of any child or young person is in question, the court in which the application is made or the proceedings are brought shall, in the absence of sufficient evidence, fix the age of the child or young person, and the age so fixed shall, for the purposes of this Act, be the true age of that child or young person.
Every guardianship order or custody order made pursuant to this Act shall specify the age of the child or young person to whom it relates, and where the age of the child or young person is fixed under subsection (1), the order shall be endorsed to that effect.

Compare

1974 No 72 s 98