Do You Need Both Parents’ Signatures for a Passport Australia?

The flights are booked. The application form is filled in. Then you hit the one box you cannot tick on your own: the other parent’s signature space. And they won’t sign, or you can’t even find them.

Here is the short answer. In Australia, each person with parental responsibility for a child generally has to give written consent before that child can be issued a passport. In most families that means both parents. But if one parent won’t sign, you are not stuck. There are two ways forward: you can ask the Australian Passport Office to issue the passport in “special circumstances”, or you can apply to court. This page walks through both, and how to work out which one fits your situation.

Who actually has to sign your child’s passport application?

The rule is not quite “both parents”. It is written consent from each person who has parental responsibility for the child.

For most children that is the two parents. But it can be wider. It includes each person named as a parent on the child’s birth certificate, plus anyone else who holds parental responsibility under a court order or under the law. Everyone giving consent completes the consent sections of the application and signs in front of an eligible witness.

If everyone signs, you apply the normal way through the Australian Passport Office. It is the one box that cannot be signed for you that turns this into a problem.

The consent requirement sits in section 11 of the Australian Passports Act 2005. Who counts as having parental responsibility, and the witnessing rules, are set out by the Australian Passport Office.

Does ‘sole parental responsibility’ mean you don’t need the other parent’s consent?

This is where a lot of people get caught out. If a court has given you sole parental responsibility, it feels like the question is already settled. Usually it is not.

Having sole parental responsibility does not, on its own, remove the other parent’s right to consent to a passport. The consent requirement only falls away in a narrower situation: where a court order actually removes the other person’s parental responsibility, or where an order specifically allows the child to have a passport or to travel overseas.

So the practical test is not “do I have sole parental responsibility?” It is “does my court order say the other parent’s consent is not needed, or authorise the passport or the travel?” If it does not spell that out, the Passport Office will still look for the other parent’s signature. If you are not sure what your order covers, it is worth having it read closely by a family court lawyer before you lodge anything.

The court-order exception is under the Family Law Act 1975, and the Passport Office applies it as described on its parental consent page.

When one parent won’t sign: the special circumstances pathway

The first route does not involve court at all. You can ask the Passport Office to issue the passport under “special circumstances”, using the B9 “child without full parental consent” form and supporting evidence.

This is for situations where getting the other parent’s consent is not possible or not reasonable. In practice it covers things like:

• You have genuinely tried and cannot contact or locate the other parent.
• There is a family violence order against the other parent.
• The child is the subject of a child welfare order.
• There is urgent travel for a family emergency.

You set out your situation on the form and back it with evidence: proof of your attempts to make contact, a copy of the relevant order, and anything else that supports why full consent cannot be obtained.

Be clear about one thing, though. This route is discretionary. Even with a strong application, there is no guarantee the passport will be issued. It is often the faster and cheaper option, but it is not a certainty.

Special circumstances are dealt with under section 10 of the Australian Passports Determination 2015, with the B9 form and evidence requirements set out by the Australian Passport Office.

When one parent won’t sign: applying to court

The second route is to apply to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for an order allowing the child to have a passport, or to travel out of the country.

The court does not ask who is the more reasonable parent. It decides on the best interests of the child. On a travel or passport question, that usually means weighing the purpose of the trip, the child’s connection to Australia, whether the destination is a country that is part of the Hague Convention on international child abduction, and whether there is any real risk the child would not be brought back.

There is a second thing to know here. Once parenting orders are in place, there are separate obligations before you can take a child overseas at all, even with a passport in hand. Getting the passport sorted is not the same as being free to travel.

An honest word on cost and time. A court application involves a filing fee and takes longer than the Passport Office route.

If you think court is where this is heading, our child custody lawyers can tell you early whether an application is likely to be worth the cost and the wait.

The best interests test is in section 60CC of the Family Law Act 1975, and the obligation to have consent or a court order before taking a child overseas once parenting orders exist is in section 65Y of the same Act. The court process is explained in the FCFCOA guide to children and international travel.

Which pathway is right for you?

Most people do not need both. The question is which one fits.

As a rough guide: if the other parent has effectively dropped out of the picture and you can prove it, special circumstances is often the sensible first step. If the other parent is present and actively refusing, a court order is usually the cleaner path, because it is binding and it settles the question rather than leaving it to a discretion.

What we see when a parent is in this position

Most of the parents who come to us on this are not fighting over the trip itself. They are worried they have left it too late, or that “sole parental responsibility” was supposed to have solved this already. The two routes above are the same two we walk clients through, and which one we reach for depends entirely on whether the other parent can be found and whether they are simply absent or actively opposed.

Worried the other parent might take your child overseas?

If your worry runs the other way, that the other parent could take your child abroad without your agreement, there are steps you can take.

You can lodge a Child Alert Request, which warns the Passport Office and DFAT to alert authorities if a passport application is made for your child. An administrative child alert lasts 12 months. A court can also order an alert, and a court-ordered alert can stay in force until the child turns 18.

For a more immediate concern, the court can place a child on the Airport Watch List through the Australian Federal Police, which flags the child at Australian departure points. If you think removal is a real and near risk, this is the part to act on quickly.

The Child Alert Request and Airport Watch List are explained in the FCFCOA guide to children and international travel.

The bottom line

Do you need both parents’ signatures for a passport in Australia? Generally yes, each person with parental responsibility has to consent. But a refusal, or a parent you cannot reach, is not the end of the road. You can go to the Passport Office under special circumstances, or you can ask the court to decide. The right choice comes down to whether the other parent can be found and whether they are absent or actively opposed.

If a booked trip is bearing down on you and you need to know which route is realistic, reach out to me and my team. Book a free discovery call on 1300 614 732 or send us a message, and we will tell you honestly where you stand and what the next step is. No pressure, no judgment, just clear advice.