Your ex won’t sign your child’s passport application. What now? We explain the two pathways: applying directly to the Australian Passport Office under special circumstances or asking the Family Court for passport and travel orders.
If your former partner refuses to consent to your child obtaining an Australian passport, that does not necessarily mean the passport cannot be issued.
Where there are no parenting orders in place, there are generally two pathways:
The right option depends on why consent is being withheld, whether the other parent actively objects, whether there are safety concerns, and whether overseas travel is planned.
For a child passport application, the usual position is that each person with parental responsibility must consent.
The Australian Passport Office describes this as “full parental consent”. Where full consent is not available, a passport may still be issued in certain circumstances, including where there is an appropriate Australian court order or where the Passport Office accepts that special circumstances exist.
The fact that a child lives primarily with one parent does not automatically mean that parent can apply for the passport alone.
If the other parent will not sign, the issue is therefore usually which of the two alternative pathways is appropriate.
The first option is to lodge the child's passport application without the other parent's consent and ask the Australian Passport Office to assess it under the “special circumstances” provisions.
This can be a useful option where the other parent cannot be contacted, has had little or no involvement with the child, or there are circumstances that make obtaining consent impractical or unsafe.
The Passport Office confirms that where there is no full parental consent and no relevant Australian court order, an applicant can request assessment under special circumstances.
In addition to the normal child passport application, you will generally need to complete Form B9, “Child without full consent or Australian court order permitting issue of a travel document”.
The Passport Office may also require other documents depending on the circumstances, including copies or originals of relevant court orders and Form B7 where applicable.
The Form B9 itself asks detailed questions about the other parent, attempts to contact them, the relationship between that parent and the child, child support and any existing or pending court proceedings.
The Passport Office looks at the particular circumstances of the application.
Depending on the case, relevant matters can include:
The Passport Office may ask for supporting material such as:
It may.
Where appropriate, the Passport Office can seek further information concerning the application.
If contacting the other parent would create a safety risk, that should be explained clearly in the application and supported by evidence where available.
This can be particularly important in cases involving family violence or coercive control.
No.
A special circumstances application is discretionary.
The Passport Office expressly states that there is no guarantee a passport will be issued where full parental consent is absent. These applications can also take longer than ordinary child passport applications, and faster processing options are not available.
The Passport Office also recommends not booking travel until the passport has actually been approved.
This is an important distinction.
The administrative pathway may be available, but it does not give the same certainty as an appropriate court order.
It may be worth considering where:
The Passport Office pathway can sometimes avoid the need for court proceedings altogether.
However, where the other parent is actively objecting or there is a genuine dispute about overseas travel, the Court pathway may be more appropriate.
The second pathway is to apply to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for an order permitting the child to obtain a passport.
The Court specifically recognises applications where a person with parental responsibility “cannot or will not” sign a child's passport application.
The Court can make orders dealing with passports and international travel, including orders permitting a child to have an Australian passport or travel internationally.
An appropriate Australian court order can then be provided to the Passport Office instead of obtaining the other parent's consent.
Depending on the circumstances, orders may provide that:
Where travel is actually proposed, it is often important to address both the passport and the international travel itself.
An order allowing a passport to be issued does not necessarily resolve every dispute about whether the child can travel overseas.
If there are no existing proceedings, the Court states that an application concerning international travel is commenced by filing an Initiating Application (Family Law).
If proceedings are already underway, the orders may instead be sought by an Application in a Proceeding or by amending the existing application.
The Court also has a specific Practice Direction for passport proceedings where the application relates solely to a passport.
The child's best interests remain the central consideration.
Where an application involves international travel, the Court may consider matters such as:
The Court's international travel guidance specifically identifies matters including itinerary details, connections with Australia and the overseas country, Hague Convention status, immigration status, undertakings and security as potentially relevant.
This is often one of the most significant issues in contested travel applications.
The Court may examine:
A parent's objection will not automatically prevent the passport being issued or travel occurring.
Equally, an objection based on a genuine non-return concern will be treated differently from a bare refusal with no apparent connection to the child's welfare.
Family violence can be relevant to either pathway.
For the Passport Office pathway, it may explain why you have not approached the other parent for consent or why direct contact would be unsafe. The Passport Office expressly accepts family violence material as potentially relevant supporting evidence.
For a Court application, family violence may also be relevant to:
The evidence should identify the actual conduct relied upon and, where available, be supported by contemporaneous material such as police records, protection orders or communications.
An urgent Court application can be made where the circumstances justify it.
The Court has procedures for requesting an urgent listing and requires the applicant to explain the facts establishing the urgency.
However, leaving the issue until immediately before a booked holiday can create avoidable difficulties.
If you know the other parent is likely to refuse consent, it is better to deal with the passport issue well before the proposed travel date.
The two pathways serve different situations.
The Court's own guidance reflects these two alternatives. Where full consent is not available, a parent can first seek special circumstances consideration from the Passport Office. If that is unsuccessful, an application can be made to the Court.
In practice, however, it is not always necessary or sensible to attempt the administrative pathway first.
Where there is already a genuine dispute requiring judicial determination, going directly to Court may be the more appropriate course.
Before applying, it is useful to identify:
That information will usually determine whether a special circumstances application to the Passport Office is realistic or whether Court orders should be sought.
If your former partner will not consent to your child obtaining a passport and there are no parenting orders in place, there are two main pathways.
You can ask the Australian Passport Office to issue the passport under the special circumstances provisions.
Alternatively, you can apply to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for an order permitting the child to obtain a passport and, where required, travel internationally.
The Passport Office pathway is discretionary. A Court order provides a clearer determination where the matter is genuinely contested.
Urban Law Group advises parents about child passport applications, international travel and parenting orders where the other parent will not consent.
This article contains general information only and is not legal advice. The appropriate pathway depends on the circumstances of the child, the reasons consent has not been obtained and any proposed overseas travel.