Interstate and International Child Abduction
Child Abduction within Australia (Interstate)
- If a child has been taken away from Australia or moved to another location within Australia, an application may be made to the Family Court of Australia for a Recovery Order.
- A Recover Order gives authority to officers of the Family Court of Australia, the Australian Federal Police and officers of state and territory police forces to stop and/ or search vehicles, vessels, aircraft, premises or places in which there is reasonable cause to believe the child may be found, and to take possession of the child and return the child to the party to whom the Recovery Order was granted.
- The Family Court of Australia may also have the power to order departments of the Commonwealth Government to provide information that may lead to the whereabouts of an abducted child.
- If a parent or another concerned person is worried that a child may be abducted, a PACE Alert may be put in place by the Australian Federal Police, but an order from the Family Court of Australia is usually required first.
- A PACE Alert allows the Australian Federal Police to prevent the departure of a child from Australia by including the child's details on the Airport Watch List, which prevents the child passing through customs at all international departure points.
- To have a child returned to Australia from overseas, the procedure varies from country to country - usually a lawyer will have to be hired in the country where the child has been located.
- Australia is a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction meaning that it is theoretically easier to have a child returned from other countries also party to this convention.
- Preventing a child from being abducted in the first place may be the best option, and so preventing a passport issuing for a child is one course of action to consider - this is possible in some circumstances.
- It may also be possible to prevent a foreign passport being issued for a child, but this is more complicated and again may require the services of a lawyer overseas.
- If you are concerned about a child being abducted or would like to recover an abducted child contact a lawyer urgently.