Can I Get a Passport For My Child Without the Other Parent’s Consent?

If you intend to travel overseas with your child, you and your child will need a passport. This means that you will need the other parent’s consent to obtain a passport, writes Family Lawyer Charissa Duffy.

Applications for a child’s Australian passport require the following –

1. The written consent of each person who has parental responsibility for the child to agree for them to have a passport; or

2. An Australian court Order that provides for the child to have a passport, to travel internationally, or to live with or spend time with a person who lives overseas.

For the purposes of an application for a child’s passport, those who have parental responsibility for a child are the parents named on the child’s birth certificate.  Only a Court can remove a parent’s parental responsibility and determine that only one parent has sole parental responsibility.  However it is also possible for a Court to nominate people other than the child’s parents or welfare agencies as having parental responsibility for a child if that is in the child’s best interest.

Therefore, you could only obtain an Australian passport for your child without the other parent’s consent in circumstances where either, the other parent is not named on the child’s birth certificate or you have a Court Order which provides for the child to have a passport.

If you have a Court Order that provides you with sole parental responsibility for a child but the Order does not provide for the child to have a passport there is no guarantee that you will be able to make an application for a passport for your child without the consent of the other parent.  If you cannot obtain the other parent’s consent you may be required to apply to the Federal Circuit Court for an Order permitting you to obtain a passport for your child.

If you have queries about Passport Applications and the process of obtaining a passport if you do not have the other parent’s consent, please make a time to speak with one of the Family Law team who will be happy to assist.

For further information or assistance contact your nearest TGB location.