- Laws of Fiji

Last Updated: 1 December 2016

[FAM 42] Interpretation42

(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires—

abuse

,

in relation to a child, means—

(a)an assault, including a sexual assault, on the child which is an offence under the law; or
(b)a person involving the child in a sexual activity with that person or another person in which the child is used, directly or indirectly, as a sexual object by the first mentioned person or the other person, and where there is unequal power in the relationship between the child and the first mentioned person;

adopted
,: in relation to a child, means adopted under the law of any place (whether in or outside of Fiji) relating to the adoption of children;

birth: includes stillbirth;

child: means a nuptial and an ex-nuptial child and includes an adopted child and a stillborn child;

childbirth maintenance period

,

in relation to the birth of a child, means the period—

(a)commencing—
- (i)in the case of a mother who—
  - (A)works in paid employment;
  - (B)is advised by a medical practitioner to stop working for medical reasons related to her pregnancy; and
  - (C)on the basis of that advice stops working more than 2 months before the child is due to be born—
  on the day on which she stops working; or
- (ii)in any other case, 2 months before the child is due to be born; and
(b)ending 3 months after the child's birth;

child maintenance provisions
,: in relation to a parenting plan, has the meaning given by section 57(5);

child welfare law: means a law or class of laws prescribed for the purposes of this definition;

child welfare officer

means—

(a)a person who has responsibilities in relation to a child welfare 1aw; or
(b)a person authorised in writing by such a person for the purposes of this Part;

child welfare provisions: in relation to a parenting plan, has the meaning given by section 57(4);

court officer

includes—

(a)a court counsellor;
(b)a welfare officer;
(c)a registrar or deputy registrar;

de factorelationship: means the relationship between a man and a woman who live with each other as spouses on a genuine domestic basis although not legally married to each other;

education: includes apprenticeship or vocational training;

family violence: means conduct, whether actual or threatened, by a person towards, or towards the property of, a member of the person's family that causes that or any other member of the person's family to fear for, or to be apprehensive about, his or her personal well-being or safety;

family violence order: means an order (including an interim order) made under a written law to protect a person from family violence;

guardian: in relation to a child, includes a person who has been granted (whether alone or jointly with another person or other persons) guardianship of the child under the law;

interests
,: in relation to a child, includes matters related to the care, welfare or development of the child;

medical expenses: includes medical, surgical, dental, diagnostic, hospital, nursing, pharmaceutical and physiotherapy expenses;

medical practitioner: means a person registered or licensed as a medical practitioner under a law that provides for the registration or licensing of medical practitioners;

member of the family: has the meaning given by subsection (2);

parent
,: in relation to a child who has been adopted, means an adoptive parent of the child;

parentage testing order: has the meaning given by section 145;

parentage testing procedure: means a medical procedure prescribed, or included in a class of medical procedures prescribed, for the purposes of this definition;

parental responsibility: has the meaning given by section 45;

professional ethics

includes—

(a)rules of professional conduct;
(b)rules of professional etiquette;
(c)a code of ethics;
(d)standards of professional conduct; and

step-parent

,

in relation to a child, means a person who—

(a)is not a parent of the child;
(b)is or has been married to a parent of the child; and
(c)treats, or at any time during the marriage treated, the child as a member of the family formed with the parent.

(2) For the purposes of this section, section 121(2)(i) and (j) and section 123, a person (the “first person”) is a member of the family of another person (the “second person”) if—

(a)the first person is or has been married to, or is in a de facto relationship with, the second person;
(b)the first person is or has been a relative of the second person (as defined in subsection (3));
(c)there is or has at any time been in force an order under this Act of any of the following kinds—
- (i)a residence order, contact order or specific issues order that relates to a child who is either the first person or the second person and that is in favour of the other of those persons;
- (ii)an order providing for the first person or the second person to have custody or guardianship of, or a right of access to, the other of those persons;
(d)the first person ordinarily or regularly resides or resided with the second person, or with another member of the family of the second person; or
(e)the first person is or has been a member of the family of a child of the second person.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a relative of a person is—

(a)a father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather or stepmother of the person;
(b)a son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, stepson or stepdaughter of the person;
(c)a brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother or stepsister of the person;
(d)an uncle or aunt of the person;
(e)a nephew or niece of the person;
(f)a cousin of the person;
(g)if the person is or was married, in addition to paragraphs (a) to (e), a person who is or was a relative, of the kind described in any of those paragraphs of the person's spouse;
(h)if the person is or was in a de facto relationship with another person, in addition to paragraphs (a) to (e), a person who would be a relative of a kind described in any of those paragraphs if the persons in that de facto relationship were or had been married to each other.