28/11/2011

Australia is signatory to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (“the Abduction Convention”). The Abduction Convention is an international treaty under which arrangements can be made for the return of children who have been wrongfully removed from their country of usual residence. 

The Abduction Convention sets up an authority in each country that deals with applications for the return of children taken to or from each country. In Australia, this authority is the International Family Law Section of the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department. 

Recently, Attorney-General, Robert McClelland announced that the Gillard Government will soon be introducing new measures in order to strengthen Australia’s laws on international parental child abduction.

The changes will include: 

  1.  New criminal offences under the Family Law Act 1975 to include the wrongful retention of a child overseas with a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment;

  2.  Extending the coverage of existing offences;

  3. Removing barriers for foreign courts to order the return of children to Australia;

  4.  Allowing the Family Law Courts to suspend child support payments for parents who have abducted their child overseas;

  5. Greater information gathering powers for the courts to locate children abducted from Australia; and

  6.  Adding defences to the offences including fleeing from violence and protecting children from imminent harm.

Mr McClelland said that “on average, two to three children are wrongfully removed from Australia or retained in another country every week by one of their parents”. Mr McClelland also said that the aim is “to strengthen the laws to stop children being abducted in the first place, improve the mechanisms to locate a child overseas and remove barriers so the child can be retuned to Australia”.

The new measures are as a result of advice and recommendations made by the Family Law Council and are expected to be introduced into Parliament in early 2012.