The Section 39 of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' has rules about who is presumed to be a guardian. When someone is ''presumed'' to be a guardian, that person ''is'' a guardian, without the need for an order. The only people who must have an order making them a guardian are the people who don't fit into those presumptions, including parents, relatives, and other people who have established a caring relationship with a child. Under section 51(1)(a) of the act, the court may make an order ''appointing'' someone as a guardian of a child who isn't presumed to be a guardian.

Under section Section 51(1)(b) of the ''Family Law Act'', also allows the court may make an order ''appointing'' someone as a guardian of a child or to make an order ''terminating'' someone's guardianship of a child. This section doesn't say what the court should consider when deciding whether to terminate someone's guardianshipstanding as a guardian of a child. However, section 37(1) says thatwhenever the court makes orders about guardianship it must consider only the best interests of the child: