Child Abduction - Australian Family Law Solicitor - Matrimonial Lawyers





Every year Australian children are abducted by a parent or relative. There are steps you can take to find and recover your child :-

  1. Seek Help

      If your child has been abducted, contact your local police without delay. You may wish to use the emergency number 000. As the police won't be able to return your child until a court makes a recovery order, you should see a lawyer about getting a recovery order.

  2. Government Information

      If you believe that government departments have information on where your abducted child is, you can apply to the Registrar of the court for a Commonwealth information order. Once the Registrar has received this information, it can only be disclosed to a limited range of people such as police to recover the child but NOT to the applicant. This way the information cannot be used as a way to locate people who are escaping from family violence.

  3. Court Application

      There is a simplified process under the Family Law Act for a parent to go through to get their child back. You can apply for the return of children regardless of whether the children resided with you or whether you had contact with them. You can apply to the court for recovery and location orders. Recovery and location orders can be applied for by any person who has been granted a parenting order or has a registered parenting plan. However, any person who is concerned with the care, welfare, and development of the child can apply for these orders.

    • Location orders

        If you think your child is still in Australia but don't know where, you can apply to the court for a location order. A location order requires a person who may have information on where your child is to provide the Registrar of the court with such information.

    • Recovery orders

        If you know where your child is in Australia, you can apply to a court for a recovery order. This order will generally be served by the police and will authorise them to retrieve your child. It gives the police the right to enter premises, search vehicles, or use force if necessary to find a child.

The Law and Abduction outside of Australia

      How can I stop my child being wrongfully removed from Australia?

      If a parent has a court order prohibiting the removal of the child from Australia, the Australian Federal Police can put the child's name on the airport watch list. In an emergency, the police will do this if the parent has applied for, but not yet obtained, such an order. If you wish to place your child's name on the list you should contact the Australian Federal Police in your nearest capital city. If you do not have a court order, you should seek legal advice about obtaining an order.

      If your child does not have a passport and you are concerned that your former partner or spouse may apply for a passport without your consent, you should contact the Passports Office on 13 12 32. The Passport Office will place your child's name on an alert list. However this process will not prevent the issue of a foreign passport if your child is eligible for such a passport.

      What you can do if your child has been abducted from Australia

      If your child has been abducted from Australia to a country that is a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, then special steps may be taken. You should seek legal advice.

      The Convention allows a parent to seek the return of a child to Australia if the child has been taken to another Convention country without that parent's agreement. The Convention applies even if a child was taken temporarily to a Convention country by consent, but has been kept in that country beyond the agreed period.

Family Law Solicitors


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