Child Abduction: How Our Family Lawyers Can Help Retrieval

Child Abduction By A Parent

Sometimes a parent conceals, detains or takes a child from the other parent, often assisted by other family members. Such an act is called parental abduction. This form of child abduction usually happens when the parents have separated.

What Our Family Lawyers Can Do To Help

If a child has been wrongfully removed from a parent, it is important to progress matters expediently to ensure that the child’s safety is not compromised. It may be necessary to make an urgent Application to the Court in order to locate and retrieve the child. The Glezer Lanteri  team of Child Abduction Lawyers have extensive experience is this very important aspect of Family Law and understand that the need obtain fast results in such a situation.

Likewise, in cases of international child abduction (that is, when a child is wrongfully removed from their country of habitual residence without one parent’s consent,) it is imperative to act quickly. The first step is to ascertain whether the child has been taken to a country which, like Australia, is a signatory to the ‘Hague Convention’ relating to international child abductions. If the child has been taken to a non-Hague Convention country, there can be difficulties in obtaining the co-operation of the relevant government.

Recovery Orders

It may be possible to get a recovery order from the Family Court requiring the return of a child / children:

• To the parent of the child / children.
• The person who has a parenting order that states that the child / children lives with, or spends time with that person.
• A person who has parental responsibility for the child / children

Publication orders

Usually the names and identities of persons involved in family court proceedings are restricted under Section 121 of the Family Law Act. However if the child is missing and to assist in locating a child who has been involved in family law proceedings, The Federal Circuit Court and the Family Court of Australia can issue publication orders that lift these restrictions. The orders are usually made on the request of a parent who is seeking public assistance in finding their child.
The National Missing Persons Coordination Centre have a list of Missing Children subject to Family Court Matters.

As you can see, these matters can get very complex. However, we are able to provide assistance in this specialised area of Family Law, including liaising with the Australian Central Authority.