What You Can Do

CHILD ABDUCTION & WHAT YOU CAN DO

If You Are Based in Australia

If you are anywhere else then call us immediately and we can advise you on what to do.

Get the Legal Process Started

When your child has been abducted and there are no court orders in place the first thing to do is contact a Family Law Specialist. Try to ensure the lawyer is someone experienced and has specialised knowledge of International Parental Child Abduction. Most suburban general lawyers have no experience and will only waste your valuable time and money as they learn the process themselves. The Yellow Pages/Internet are as good a place as any to start.

The average Family Lawyer will charge anywhere from $285 to $400 per hour. A Barrister (or Counsel) will often be between $4500 to $8,000 per day. If your child is abducted within Australia it is best to immediately engage a Family Law Specialist. If your child has been abducted internationally a Family Law Specialist will certainly help to speed up the process, but it is possible to do it all yourself.

You may qualify for Legal Aid in the State you reside in if you are unemployed or disadvantaged. Contact Legal Aid in your State.

The alternative is to act on your own behalf and the Family Court of Australia has most of the necessary documents available on line at http://www.familycourt.gov.au/ or the Federal Magistrates Court at http://www.fmc.gov.au/. Many people can and do successfully navigate their way through the red tape and bureaucracy, however it does take time and manpower.

If you decide to do it yourself, get into your local Family Law Court Building as soon as possible to obtain the necessary forms that will inevitably have to be completed.

Your lawyer will get the legal ball rolling and this is necessary. You will need Court Orders to legally retain custody of the recovered child and to ensure the law is on your side. Once a parent has abducted a child there are no guarantees it will not happen again.

With Court Orders in place if it happens again the authorities can now assist quite rapidly in the search. Court Orders also allow the child to be listed on the airport watch list preventing the child from being taken overseas. Court Orders also act as a strong deterrent with heavy fines and possible jail time for repeat offenders.

In Australia visit this website first. It will explain the process quickly and easily.

http://www.ag.gov.au/childabduction

International Social Services, (ISS) can also be very helpful sometimes;

http://www.iss.org.au

A Central Authority has been established in all countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention. Contact the Central Authority in the country you and your children usually reside in and from where they were abducted.

Do NOT rely solely on the Central Authority to return your child. They are a Government Agency which operates according to legislation, guidelines, policies and agendas. These may not always seem to be aligned with the goals and expectations of the left-behind parent.

Once you have commenced the Family Law process, talk to us about locating your child and recovering your child back into your care.

We can guide you through the entire process and assist you through all of the red tape and bureaucracy you will encounter once you commence the formal legal process if required.

You do need to act as quickly as possible when it comes to further preventative measures such as;

Contacting your local Central Authority
List taking parent and child on airport arrival/departure watch list in country they are suspected of being in.
Supporting authorities with media exposure and awareness.
Actively following up with individual agencies about the progress.

Contact us on;

24 Hours/7 Days

Child Recovery

International: + 61 447 777708

Within Australia: 0447 777708

childrecovery@bigpond.com

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What You Can Do

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