If you have parenting orders in place for your children, or an application for parenting orders is currently going through the Family Court, the children cannot travel overseas (even for a short holiday) without permission from the court or the agreement of the other parties. Show
You may also have temporary or final parenting orders that say the children cannot be taken outside of the state, even for a holiday. You should try to reach an agreement but if you can’t, you will need to apply to the Family Court for orders saying you can take the children on holiday. How can I get passports for my children?Children cannot travel on a parent's Australian passport. Each child, including infants, must be issued with their own passport if they want to travel overseas. Children under 18 cannot apply for their own Australian passport; the applications must be made by a parent or someone with parental responsibility for the children. All people with parental responsibility for a child (normally both parents) must consent and sign the application form. Where possible, you need to contact the other parent and ask for their consent to have a child passport issued. In limited cases, you might be able to ask the Australian Passport Office to consider your application without the other parent's consent. This is usually where there are family violence restraining orders in place, child protection orders in place, or where you have used all reasonable efforts but cannot contact the other parent. If a child is in the care of the Department for Child Protection and Family Support, the CEO of the Department can consent to a child passport being issued. If the other parent unreasonably refuses to sign the children’s passport applications, you can apply to the Family Court for orders that passports can be issued without their consent. The requirements to participate in Family Dispute Resolution apply to these applications. The Court will only grant orders for the children to be issued passports and travel if it is found to be in their best interests. If you take the children on a holiday without telling the other parent, they might apply to the court for an injunction stopping the children from travelling, or for a recovery order to have them brought back home. There can also be other consequences if you have breached parenting orders. Applying to the courtWhen applying for child passports or permission for a child to travel internationally, your application must say what orders you are asking the Court to make. You will also need an affidavit explaining all the facts that are relevant in your case, including:
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Getting an Australian child passport for your child can seem like an ordeal after you and your partner have divorced or separated, but it doesn’t have to be. How do I get a passport for my child?There are three main things to remember:
How do I get a child passport with one parent absent?It’s not just you who can make the application for the child passport. Parents/all people with parental responsibility for the child need to complete the application for an Australian child passport. Usually, the parents named on the child’s birth certificate have parental responsibility, and that doesn’t change until it is removed by an Australian court or the child turns 18 years of age. Can a legal guardian get a passport for a child?Parental responsibility can be granted to someone who is not the parent named on the child’s birth certificate. For example, if a mother is named on the birth certificate but a court gives the child’s grandmother parental responsibility for the child, then the grandmother would need to give her written consent to the child’s passport application and can also apply for a passport. If you are applying for an Australian child passport on behalf of your child but the other parent is in another part of Australia, they can give their consent to the child passport application by visiting any passport office or agency in Australia. If the other parent is overseas, they can go to an Australian diplomatic or consular mission to give their consent. Can I get a passport for my child without the mother’s or father’s consent?If the other person won’t give their consent, the only way you can apply for a passport for your child is if you have an Australian Court Order allowing your child to:
If you already have a Court Orders, then you need to send the original order, along with the child passport application and a completed Form B7*(No further court orders). What if there are no travel orders in the Court Orders we have?If your Court Orders don’t provide for international travel and the other person still won’t give their consent, then you can ask for the child passport application to be considered under the “special circumstances” set out in subsection 11(2) of the Australian Passports Act 2005 and section 10 of the Australian Passports Determination 2015. What are these “special circumstances”?Some examples of “special circumstances” are:
So, in these circumstances, to make the application you would need to send in: Some examples of evidence you can provide include Court Orders (child welfare or family violence), medical or police reports, and/or statements from government agencies. Am I guaranteed a child passport if I send in everything they ask for?There is never a guarantee that the application will be accepted if you make a child passport application without the full consent of the other person. The person assessing the application may contact other people (the other parent or anyone else) for more information regarding the child passport application you have made. Based on all the information they have, they can either:
If they don’t issue the child passport, can I have the decision reviewed?The only time you can have a decision reviewed is if the Australian Passport Office says that the passport was not issued because special circumstances don’t exist. Remember, if the passport isn’t issued then the application fee will generally not be refunded. You can have this decision reviewed if you want. How long does it take to get a passport after I have lodged the application?If you’ve lodged a child passport application without the full consent of the other person, then you are looking at a six (6) to eight (8) week wait. What if I have a court order from overseas?There are some court orders from other countries which may allow you to apply for an Australian child passport without the consent of the child’s other parent or guardian. These are:
If these exceptions do not apply, then you will still need to get the consent of the person with parental responsibility. If the orders you have are in another language, you will need to have them translated into English by an approved translation service (see www.passports.gov.au for more information). What can I do if I think my child will be taken overseas if they have a valid passport?If you’re worried that your child’s passport might be used to take them overseas without you knowing, you can request a Child Alert to prevent the issue of a passport. Unfortunately, a Child Alert cannot stop your child from travelling if they have an Australian passport or if they are legally entitled to an Australian travel document or a travel document from another country. But you can request that their name be put on the Australian Federal Police’s Family Law Watch List. This would mean that if someone was trying to leave the country with your child, you child’s name would be flagged with the AFP and they would not be allowed to leave the country. To apply to have your child’s name added to the Family Law Watch List, you need to either have:
I want to take my child overseas but I don’t want to ask the other parent. What can I do?Just don’t do it. If you take your child overseas without consent, it may be a criminal offence. Contact a member of our Brisbane family law team about your options |