We won’t rest until your children are back home with you.

Recovery & Location Orders

In situations where your child, who usually resides with you, has been taken by their other parent or another individual without consent or in violation of existing Parenting Orders, Stanley & Co Lawyers is here to support you. We understand this can be especially frightening and we are committed to helping you recover your children by applying to the Court for Location and Recovery Orders.

What is a Location Order?

When the whereabouts of a child is unknown, or where you are prevented from having contact with your children, you may seek a Location Order from the Court. This occurs where the other parent has taken your child without disclosing their location. A Location Order is an order made by the Court compelling anybody with knowledge of your ex-partner’s whereabouts to disclose this information to the Court. Location Orders can be made to obtain information from Centrelink, the ATO, banks, other third parties

What is a Recovery Order?

Once your child’s location is discovered, we can help you apply for a Recovery Order. This is an order of the Court compelling a child to be returned to a parent of the child, a person who has a parenting order which states the child is to live with, spend time with, or communicate with, that person, or a person who has parental responsibility for the child. It’s important to remember that the Court is not a child recovery agency. If the Court makes an Order authorising or directing another person or persons to find, recover and deliver the child, you must give a copy of the Order to that person or persons. In most instances, this will be the Australian Federal Police (AFP). We will help you throughout this process.

Helpful Questions & Answers

Who Can Apply for a Location Order?

The following individuals may apply for a Location Order:

A parent who the child lives with, spends time with or communicates with under a Parenting Order;
A parent who has parental responsibility for the child in a Parenting Order;
A Grandparent of the child; or
A person concerned with the care, welfare and development of the child (for example, where no Parenting Order exists, but the child lives with you or spends time with you).

Who Can Apply for a Recovery Order?

You can apply for a recovery order if you are:

A parent who the child lives with, spends time with or communicates with under a Parenting Order;
A parent who has parental responsibility for the child in a Parenting Order;
A Grandparent of the child; or
A person concerned with the care, welfare and development of the child (for example, where no Parenting Order exists, but the child lives with you or spends time with you).

What Court Hears Recovery Orders?

An application for a Recovery Order should be filed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court. On the application form, you must say what orders you are asking the Court to make. For example:

The Marshal of the Court, all officers of the Australian Federal Police and all state and territory police officers are requested to find and recover [child/ren & date of birth] and deliver the [child/ren] to the [father/mother/other] and for that purpose to stop and search any vehicle, vessel or aircraft and to enter and search any premises or place in which there is at any time reasonable cause to believe that the [child/ren] may be found.

Additionally, your application should be accompanied by an affidavit providing comprehensive details to bolster your case. It’s crucial to cover the following elements, where relevant:

a brief history of the relationship between you and the person the child is presumed to be with
a list of previous court hearings and family law orders
details about the child and where he/she usually lives
how and when the child was taken from you or not delivered to you
where the child might be and the basis for that belief
steps (if any) that have been taken to find the child
why it is in the child’s best interests to be returned to you
the likely impact on the child if a recovery order is not made, and
any other factors relevant to the case.

Your chances of recovering the child will improve if you have information about where the child is likely to be. You should collect as much information as possible to help authorities find and return the child.

International Parental Child Abduction & Kidnapping

Australia is a signatory to the Hague Convention. The Hague Convention provides a process through which a parent can seek to have their child returned to their home country from another member country. For a list of member nations, click here.

Stanley & Co Lawyers understand the key requirements and criteria for making applications to the Family Court of Australia under the Hague Convention as well as dealing with international authorities and jurisdictional hurdles in a variety of countries around the world.

If your child is taken overseas without your permission we will coordinate with Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department on your behalf.

Interstate Parental Child Abduction & Kidnapping

If your child is taken interstate without your consent, you will have to travel interstate at your own expense before the recovery order is executed.

This is because the police will not normally execute a recovery order unless you are with them at or near the place where the child is to be recovered. If you lack the resources to make the journey, you may seek emergency financial assistance from the Department for Child Protection.

How Can I Prevent My Child From Being Taken Overseas?

If you are concerned about your child leaving the country without your permission, you should call or book a free consultation with our Adelaide Family Lawyers. Stanley & Co Lawyers can help you apply to the Court for an Order that:

Prevents a passport being issued to a child by lodging a child alert request at the Australian Passport Office;
Applying to the Court for a child alert order;
Requires a person to deliver the child or their passport to the Court;
Prevents a child from leaving Australia;
Restrain the removal of a child from Australia;
Request the AFP place the child’s name on an Airport Watch list; and
Request the AFP assists in implementing the order(s).

Self Help Resources

For more information about travelling with your child/ren overseas, see the Children and international travel after family separationf act sheet.