Statute Details
- Title: Children and Young Persons Regulations 2020
- Act Code: CYPA1993-S512-2020
- Type: Subsidiary legislation (Regulations)
- Enacting Authority: Minister for Social and Family Development
- Authorising Provision: Section 88 of the Children and Young Persons Act (Cap. 38)
- Commencement: 1 July 2020
- Made Date: 29 June 2020
- Current Version Status: Current version as at 26 Mar 2026
- Key Amendments Noted in Timeline: Amended by S 413/2022 (effective 29 May 2022)
- Regulatory Focus (from extract): Preliminary matters; categories of matters requiring consultation; governance of the Committee on Fostering; miscellaneous prescribed persons
What Is This Legislation About?
The Children and Young Persons Regulations 2020 (“CYPR 2020”) are subsidiary regulations made under the Children and Young Persons Act (Cap. 38). In plain terms, they provide the operational framework for how certain decisions affecting children and young persons are handled—particularly where foster care arrangements are involved and where specific categories of decisions require consultation and oversight.
While the Children and Young Persons Act sets out the broad statutory scheme, the Regulations translate that scheme into practical rules. They do this by defining key terms, identifying categories of “matters” that trigger consultation requirements, and establishing the governance mechanics of the “Committee on Fostering”. The Regulations also include a “miscellaneous” provision that prescribes certain persons for specified references in the Act.
For practitioners, the Regulations are important because they affect process and decision-making. In child welfare and fostering contexts, procedural compliance—who must be consulted, how committees are constituted and meet, and how cases are reviewed—can be as legally significant as the substantive outcome. CYPR 2020 therefore functions as a compliance and governance instrument within the broader child welfare regime.
What Are the Key Provisions?
Part 1 (Preliminary): citation, commencement, and definitions. Regulation 1 confirms that the Regulations are the “Children and Young Persons Regulations 2020” and that they come into operation on 1 July 2020. This matters for determining the temporal application of obligations and for assessing whether actions taken before that date were governed by earlier subsidiary instruments.
Regulation 2 provides a set of definitions that anchor the Regulations in the wider statutory ecosystem. Notably, it defines the “Committee on Fostering” as the committee established under section 27B of the Act. It also defines the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson by reference to their appointment under Regulations 6 and 7 (respectively). These definitions are not merely semantic: they determine who has authority to chair meetings, who can act in leadership roles, and how the committee’s institutional identity is established.
The definitions also clarify relevant institutional and sectoral terms. For example, “educational institution” is defined broadly to include places that offer education, but it expressly excludes early childhood development centres and student care centres. This is legally relevant because the Regulations’ consultation and decision categories (in Parts 2 and 3) may turn on whether a matter relates to schooling, care arrangements, or related services. Similarly, “student care centre” is defined by reference to care or supervision for school-going children or young persons before/after school hours and/or during school holidays.
Part 2 (Categories of matters and consultation requirements). Parts 2 and 5 are central to the Regulations’ protective and procedural function. Regulations 3 and 4 identify “Category 2 matters” and “Category 3 matters” respectively. Although the extract does not reproduce the detailed lists of matters, the structure indicates a tiered approach: different categories likely correspond to different levels of required consultation or oversight before a care-giver can decide on certain issues affecting a child or young person.
Regulation 5 then addresses a key procedural safeguard: persons to be consulted before a care-giver may decide on a Category 2 matter. This is a classic administrative-law and child-welfare compliance mechanism. In practice, it means that where a care-giver proposes to make a decision falling within Category 2, they cannot simply decide unilaterally; they must consult the specified persons. The legal significance is twofold: (1) it protects the child’s welfare by ensuring relevant stakeholders are heard, and (2) it creates a compliance checkpoint that can be used to challenge decisions made without proper consultation.
Part 3 (Committee on Fostering: governance and decision-making mechanics). Part 3 sets out the internal governance of the Committee on Fostering. Regulations 6 to 8 deal with the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Secretary. These provisions matter because committee authority and procedural validity often depend on correct appointment and roles.
Regulations 9 to 15 then provide for the committee’s operational structure and functioning. Key provisions include:
- Sub-committees (Regulation 9): the committee may establish sub-committees, enabling more specialised or efficient handling of matters.
- Resignation or revocation (Regulation 10): sets rules for when a member’s appointment can end, which is important for maintaining lawful committee composition.
- Meetings (Regulation 11) and sub-committee meetings (Regulation 12): establish how and when the committee and its sub-committees convene.
- Transaction outside meetings (Regulation 13): allows the committee to transact business outside formal meetings, subject to conditions (not shown in the extract). This is often used for urgent or administrative decisions, but it must still preserve procedural fairness.
- Attendance by non-members (Regulation 14): permits persons who are not committee members to attend meetings. This can support expert input, but it also raises issues of confidentiality and decision-making integrity.
- Review of cases (Regulation 15): provides for case review processes. In child welfare contexts, “review” provisions are critical because they ensure decisions affecting children are revisited, monitored, or assessed for ongoing appropriateness.
Part 4 (Miscellaneous: prescribed persons). Regulation 16 is a targeted provision: it prescribes persons under sections 8(3)(b) and 87(2)(d) of the Act. Even without the full text of those Act provisions, the legal effect is clear: the Regulations identify which persons fall within statutory references. This is often decisive for determining who has standing to be consulted, who must be notified, or who can perform a particular function under the Act.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
CYPR 2020 is organised into four Parts:
- Part 1 (Preliminary): contains the citation and commencement (Regulation 1) and definitions (Regulation 2).
- Part 2 (Categories of matters in respect of child or young person): identifies Category 2 matters (Regulation 3) and Category 3 matters (Regulation 4), and specifies who must be consulted before a care-giver decides on Category 2 matters (Regulation 5).
- Part 3 (Committee on Fostering): sets out committee leadership (Regulations 6–8), sub-committees (Regulation 9), membership termination (Regulation 10), meeting procedures (Regulations 11–12), business outside meetings (Regulation 13), attendance by non-members (Regulation 14), and review of cases (Regulation 15).
- Part 4 (Miscellaneous): prescribes persons for specified Act references (Regulation 16).
This structure reflects a deliberate policy design: define the framework first, then regulate decision categories and consultation, then establish the institutional machinery for oversight and review, and finally close gaps by prescribing persons required by the Act.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
CYPR 2020 applies primarily to actors involved in fostering-related decision-making and oversight under the Children and Young Persons Act. The Regulations explicitly reference a care-giver (in Regulation 5), and they establish the Committee on Fostering and its sub-committees (Parts 3 and 2 via definitions). Accordingly, the Regulations are relevant to:
- Care-givers who make decisions concerning children or young persons that fall within the regulated categories (particularly Category 2 matters requiring consultation);
- Members and leadership of the Committee on Fostering (Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, and members);
- Sub-committees constituted under the Committee’s authority;
- Persons consulted under Regulation 5 (the specific persons are not listed in the extract, but the obligation to consult is clear); and
- Prescribed persons identified under Regulation 16 for the relevant Act provisions.
In addition, because the Regulations define terms such as “educational institution”, “student care centre”, and “early childhood development centre”, they can affect how decisions are classified and therefore which consultation or committee processes are triggered. Practitioners advising care-givers, foster agencies, or stakeholders should therefore read CYPR 2020 alongside the Children and Young Persons Act and any relevant definitions in related statutes.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
CYPR 2020 is important because it operationalises child welfare and fostering safeguards through procedural requirements. In practice, the most legally consequential aspects are often the “process” steps: consultation requirements, committee composition, meeting procedures, and case review mechanisms. These steps can determine whether decisions are lawful, whether they can be challenged, and how accountability is maintained.
For lawyers, the Regulations provide a framework for assessing compliance. For example, if a care-giver makes a decision that falls within Category 2 without consulting the persons required under Regulation 5, that decision may be vulnerable to challenge on grounds of procedural non-compliance. Similarly, if the Committee on Fostering (or a sub-committee) acts without proper meeting procedures or with an invalid composition, the integrity of its decisions and recommendations may be questioned.
From an enforcement and governance perspective, the Committee provisions (Regulations 6–15) ensure that fostering oversight is not ad hoc. They establish leadership roles, allow structured delegation through sub-committees, permit controlled decision-making outside meetings, and provide for review of cases. This supports continuity, transparency, and responsiveness—particularly where children’s needs change over time.
Related Legislation
- Children and Young Persons Act (Cap. 38): the authorising Act and the primary statutory framework for fostering and related child welfare matters.
- Early Childhood Development Centres Act 2017 (Act 19 of 2017): referenced for the definition of “early childhood development centre”.
- Dental Registration Act (Cap. 76): referenced for the definition of “registered dentist”.
- Medical Registration Act (Cap. 174): referenced for the definition of “registered medical practitioner”.
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Children and Young Persons Regulations 2020 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.