About the Stability Act
The Stability Act will better support children, young people, and families to keep them together whenever it is safe to do so.
The amendments that are now in force aim to support the government and community service providers that work to keep children and young people safe and to support families.
The Stability Act provides the Children’s Court with greater discretion and flexibility when making Family Reunification Orders by:
- removing the 24-month time limit on Family Reunification Orders, allowing multiple further extensions of up to 12 months at a time, with no limit on the number of extensions
- replacing the ‘compelling evidence’ requirement for granting an extension to a Family Reunification Order with new considerations.
These new considerations are:
- the number and duration of previous extensions to the reunification period
- whether reunification has been prevented by circumstances outside parent/s control
- the extent to which parent/s have received and engaged with services and supports needed to enable them to resume care of their children.
The Stability Act also:
- removes adoption as a stability objective that can be pursued as part of a child’s case plan goals
- replaces the term ‘permanency’ with ‘stability’
- provides a more holistic understanding of stability when making decisions. This will make clear that stability has multiple dimensions. This includes stability in the child or young person's care, physical stability, cultural stability and relational stability.
Children, Youth and Families Amendment (Supporting Stable and Strong Families) Act 2026
The Children, Youth and Families Amendment (Supporting Stable and Strong Families) Act 2026 (SSSF Act) default commencement date is Wednesday 30 September 2026.
The SSSF Act introduces a new model of shared responsibilities across the Victorian Government to improve outcomes for at-risk children, young people and families.
The first SSSF plans will be prepared within the first 12 months from the commencement date.
Work is underway to prepare for the commencement and implementation of the SSSF Act. The department will keep stakeholders updated and engage with SSSF partners on their responsibilities.
Independent review
The Acts both require an independent review to take place after they have been in force for 5 years. This will ensure there is an independent and transparent process to consider the impact of these reforms.
The department will monitor cases to assess the impact of the changes and enable government to identify and respond to issues ahead of the independent review process.