Victoria’s Stability Act 2026 gives the Children’s Court power to extend a family reunification order beyond the previous 24-month cap, in blocks of up to 12 months, where doing so serves the child’s best interests. It doesn’t guarantee an extension; the Court still weighs parental engagement, past orders, and any circumstances that delayed progress. If you’re a parent working through the Victorian child protection system, this change matters.
Reunification cases used to run against a hard clock. Once that window closed, families could lose the chance to keep working toward getting their child home even when real progress was happening. The Children, Youth and Families Amendment (Stability) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 11 March 2026 and took effect on 12 May 2026, and it rewrites that part of the equation.
Below is a plain-English breakdown of what’s changed, what the Court actually considers, and what parents can do to put themselves in the strongest possible position.
What Is a Family Reunification Order in Victoria?
A family reunification order is a child protection order, not a parenting order in the usual family law sense. It sits within the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 and applies when the Children’s Court has concerns about a child’s safety and places the child in out-of-home care while parents work toward a safe return.
Under the order, parental responsibility sits with the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, subject to the Court’s directions. The underlying goal, though, hasn’t changed: reunification remains the aim wherever it can happen safely. If a family protection matter has reached the point of disagreement over evidence or proposed orders, that’s usually the moment to bring in experienced child custody lawyers who can walk through the case file with you.
What Actually Changed Under the Stability Act?
Three shifts stand out:
- The 24-month timeframe is no longer a hard stop. The Court can grant further reunification orders of up to 12 months at a time where the statutory tests are met, and there’s no longer an overall cap on how many extensions can be sought.
- “Permanency” has been replaced with “stability.” The old framework pushed toward locking in a long-term placement quickly. The new one recognises that stability isn’t one-dimensional; it can mean stability in care, in physical living arrangements, in cultural identity, and in relationships.
- The extension test is specific, not automatic. The Court has to be satisfied that an extension serves the child’s best interests, based on defined factors, not simply that more time has been requested.
What Does the Court Look at When Deciding on an Extension?
The legislation points to three main considerations:
- Prior reunification orders: how many there have been and how long they ran.
- Parental engagement: whether the parent has taken part in the services and supports identified as necessary for safe reunification.
- Barriers outside the parent’s control, including delays in accessing services, housing instability, or other circumstances that genuinely slowed progress through no fault of the parent.
That third factor is easy to overlook but often decisive. A parent who’s been stuck on a program waitlist for months looks very different to the Court than one who’s disengaged entirely, even though both may show the same lack of “completed” services on paper. The reform is built to draw that distinction out.
Does Attending Services Guarantee More Time?
No. Engagement is one input, not a guarantee. The Court still has to be satisfied that reunification is realistically achievable and that the conditions for safe care can be met. A recent Children’s Court decision, DFFH v M & F [2026] VChC 2, shows this in practice: the Court weighed the children’s existing kinship placement, the parent-child relationship, ongoing parental vulnerabilities, and the need for further intensive work and ultimately granted a further 12-month order. The outcome wasn’t automatic; it followed a close look at the specific facts.
How Can Parents Build a Stronger Case for an Extension?
Evidence carries more weight than intention. Parents in this position generally benefit from:
- Keeping records of appointments, program attendance, and assessments
- Documenting any delays in accessing services and why they occurred
- Being able to show what’s changed since the original order was made
- Identifying what risks remain and what evidence supports managing them safely
- Setting out what a child’s physical, cultural, and relational stability would look like on return
If disputes arise about how that evidence is being read or whether the Department agrees progress has been made, this is where legal advice becomes practical rather than optional. Our earlier post on responding to a child protection order in Victoria covers the process in more detail, and our guide to recovery orders and supervised visitation is worth reading if contact arrangements are also in question.
What If Reunification Isn’t Realistic Anymore?
Not every case ends in reunification, and the Stability Act doesn’t pretend otherwise.
When the Court decides ongoing reunification efforts aren’t in a child’s best interests, it still guides longer-term care arrangements with the same broader stability principles, meaning cultural connection, relationships, and the child’s overall wellbeing remain part of the picture, not just where they’ll live.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.1 How much extra time can be added to a family reunification order?
Up to 12 months per extension, with no set limit on the number of extensions, provided the Court is satisfied each time that it’s in the child’s best interests.
Q.2 Can a family reunification order be extended more than once?
Yes. The previous overall cap has been removed. Each request is still assessed on its own facts.
Q.3 What happens if a parent can’t access services in time?
The Court can take genuine, outside-the-parent’s-control delays into account; this is one of the three statutory factors it must weigh.
Q.4 Is “stability” the same as “permanency”?
No. Permanency focuses mainly on a fixed long-term placement. Stability is broader, covering care, physical circumstances, cultural identity, and relationships.
Q.5 When should a parent get legal advice about a reunification order?
As early as possible, particularly if an order is nearing its end date, an extension is being considered, or there’s disagreement about whether enough progress has been made.
Where This Leaves Families
The Stability Act gives Victorian families more room to keep working toward reunification, but it puts the emphasis squarely on evidence, engagement, and the child’s best interests, not the passage of time alone. If you’re facing a reunification decision, understanding what the Court needs to see is the first step toward making your case.
If you’d like help reviewing an existing order or preparing for an upcoming Court date, Melbourne Family Lawyers can talk through where your matter currently stands and what evidence would strengthen it.
