Clause 9

The Director‑General may enter into a voluntary care agreement —

with both the parents of a child or young person; or (b)where a child or young person has one or more guardians, with all the guardians, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, if the Director‑General is of the view that the voluntary care agreement will promote the welfare of the child or young person.(2) Despite subsection (1), where any parent or guardian of a child or young person —

cannot be contacted by the Director‑General after reasonable attempts have been taken to contact the parent or guardian; or

is incapable or unwilling to decide whether or not to enter into a voluntary care agreement,the Director‑General may enter into a voluntary care agreement in respect of the child or young person with the other parent, or guardian or guardians, as the case may be.(3) The Director‑General may extend the validity period of the voluntary care agreement by up to 3 years without the consent of both the parents or all the guardians of the child or young person (whether the voluntary care agreement was entered before, on or after the date of commencement of section 9 of the Children and Young Persons (Amendment) Act 2019), if —

the voluntary care agreement expires in less than one month unless it is extended;

either —

both the parents or all the guardians of the child or young person cannot be contacted by the Director‑General despite reasonable attempts by the Director‑General to do so; or

both the parents or all the guardians of the child or young person are incapable or unwilling to decide whether or not to extend the voluntary care agreement; and

the Director‑General is of the view that it is in the best interests of the child or young person to extend the validity period of the voluntary care agreement.(4) A voluntary care agreement in respect of a child or young person may be terminated by —

the Director‑General giving written notice to the parent or parents, or guardian or guardians who are party to the voluntary care agreement;

any parent or guardian who is a party to the voluntary care agreement giving written notice to the Director‑General; or

the parent or guardian who is not a party to the voluntary care agreement, giving written notice to the Director‑General and the other parent or guardian or guardians.(5) The voluntary care agreement in respect of which one or more written notices mentioned in subsection (4) are given terminates on the expiry of the prescribed period after the date of the service of the notice on the last person.”.