Women’s Charter 1961 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 10
125. Paramount consideration to be welfare of child
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A court may give either parent custody, or care and control, of a child. If exceptional circumstances make that undesirable, the court may choose another relative, a group whose aims include child welfare, or another suitable person. The child's welfare matters most. Parents' wishes also count, as do those of a child old enough to give an independent opinion.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Last amended by an amending law of 2016.
The court may at any time by order place a child in the custody, or in the care and control, of the child’s father or mother or (where there are exceptional circumstances making it undesirable that the child be entrusted to either parent) of any other relative of the child or of any organisation or association the objects of which include child welfare, or of any other suitable person.
place
“place” means any building, house, office, flat, room or cubicle or any part thereof, and any open or enclosed space and includes a ship, boat or any vessel, whether afloat or not, and any vehicle;
In deciding in whose custody, or in whose care and control, a child should be placed, the paramount consideration is to be the welfare of the child and subject to this, the court is to have regard —
child
“child” means a child of the marriage as defined in section 92 but who is below 21 years of age.
to the wishes of the parents of the child; and
to the wishes of the child, where he or she is of an age to express an independent opinion.