Child Access Schedules After Divorce: Common Examples

How does the court decide on access?

When the court gives child custody to one parent, the other parent is usually given access, meaning set time with the child. Section 89 of the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (LRA 1976) lets the court attach access terms to a custody order.

There is no fixed template. The court looks at the child’s age, school, the distance between the two homes and the child’s current routine. A schedule both parents already agree on gives the court a strong starting point.

Under the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961, the child’s welfare comes first. The schedule must work for the child, not just for the parents.

Alternate weekends

Alternate weekends are a common arrangement. The parent without custody picks the child up on Friday evening and brings them back on Sunday evening.

Some orders include Friday night, so the child spends two full nights with the visiting parent. Pickup and return times are usually written into the order to avoid arguments.

This suits school-age children because the school week stays the same. The child goes to school from the custodial parent’s home and spends every other weekend with the other parent.

Weekday visits and overnights

Weekday visits are often added on top of weekends, for example one or two evenings a week, with or without an overnight stay.

For younger children, this may be a few hours after school with no overnight. Older children who can get ready for school on their own are more likely to get weekday overnights. The court checks that the schedule does not disrupt schooling.

If there is a weekday overnight, the visiting parent must get the child to school on time the next morning.

School holidays and public holidays

School holidays are usually split equally. A common approach is to swap halves each year: one parent has the first half this year and the second half next year.

Festivals are rotated in a similar way. Parents may alternate Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Christmas and other festive days. The order often states which parent has the child for each festival in odd and even years.

Mid-term breaks can be divided by agreement or by court order. Some parents give these shorter breaks to the parent without custody, to make up for less time during the school term.

Birthdays and special days

Birthdays are often handled separately. The child may spend the birthday with one parent and celebrate with the other on the nearest weekend. Some orders split the day itself, morning with one parent and evening with the other.

Each parent’s own birthday, and Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, are usually spent with that parent, whoever’s weekend it is.

Other family events can be arranged by agreement. Courts expect parents to be flexible about events that matter to the child.

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