How to Get Your Child Back: Recovery Orders in Australia
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Changeover has come and gone, and your child has not come home. Or your ex has taken them and stopped answering the phone. You are frightened, you are on a clock, and you want one thing: your child back.
Here is the plain answer. A recovery order is a court order that can direct the police to find, recover and return your child to you. You do not have to chase your ex yourself, and you do not have to wait and hope. You ask the court to act. The sooner you do, the more control you have.
Let me walk you through what a recovery order actually does, who can apply, how to file, and what to do if your child still cannot be found.
What a recovery order actually does
Most parents assume that if their child is withheld, they can walk into a police station and have the police bring the child home. That is not how it works.
A lot of people are of the belief that they can go to the police station and ask the police to recover their children for them. The police are not going to act unless they’ve received an order from the court, and that applies even if you do have parenting orders in place.
That is the gap a recovery order fills. Once the court makes one, it can authorise or direct police officers to find, recover and deliver your child to you. It can go further than that. It can authorise police to stop and search a vehicle, and to enter and search premises where there is reasonable cause to believe the child may be found. The order is then carried out by the Australian Federal Police, and by state or territory police.
A recovery order is defined under section 67Q of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).
Who can apply
You can apply for a recovery order if you are:
- a person the child lives with, spends time with, or communicates with under a parenting order
- a person with parental responsibility for the child
- a grandparent, or another person concerned with the child’s care, welfare or development
If you do not have a parenting order yet, you are not shut out. You can apply for one at the same time as you apply for the recovery order.
Who may apply is set out in section 67T.
How to apply
The application is filed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Four things matter:
Normally, a parenting dispute has to go through family dispute resolution before it reaches a courtroom. An urgent recovery application is an exception. When a child has been taken or withheld, you do not have to mediate first. If you are unsure which pathway fits your situation, our family court lawyers can tell you quickly.
What the court weighs
In deciding whether to make a recovery order, the court’s paramount consideration is the best interests of the child. Not who is angrier. Not who is technically in the right. What is best for the child.
The best-interests test is section 67V.
Why moving fast matters
This is the part people get wrong. They wait, they hope it resolves itself, and by the time they act the child has settled somewhere new.
Act quickly. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to get the orders. If you’ve waited months in order to get an order to return a child to another location, you have to think: the court needs to then disrupt this child’s life not one time, because they’ve moved to another location, but another time after that, and they might be hesitant or reluctant to do so.
Delay does not just cost you time. It can weaken the application itself.
How long it lasts and what happens after
Once granted, a recovery order takes effect straight away. The court sets how long it stays in force in the order itself, commonly up to 12 months. From there, the Australian Federal Police, and state or territory police, carry it out.
If your child still cannot be found
Sometimes you do not know where your child is. There are orders for that too:
- a Location Order, which requires a person or a government department to give the court information about where the child is
- a Commonwealth Information Order, which draws on records held by agencies such as Centrelink or Medicare to trace the child’s whereabouts
- a Publication Order in limited cases, allowing details to be published to help find the child
- the Hague Convention route if the child has been taken overseas to a member country
These sit alongside a recovery order and are worth raising early if your child’s location is unknown. You can read the court’s overview of them on the FCFCOA recovery orders page.
What if a recovery order is filed against you?
If you have received a recovery order, or been told one is being sought against you, you are not automatically in the wrong, and it is not always the end of the matter. You can respond, put your own account before the court, and in some situations ask the court to discharge or vary the order. The same best-interests test applies to you as to the other parent. The important thing is to get advice before you act, not after.
A real outcome
Here is how this plays out in practice.
We had a client, let’s call her Michelle, and Michelle had full-time care of her daughter, and the father had supervised time every second weekend, and after a visit the father didn’t return the child. He told Michelle he was going to keep her for good by way of text message, and she was completely distressed. We helped her file an urgent recovery order application, court heard the matter within 48 hours and granted the order.
The lesson in Michelle’s case is the same one that runs through this whole page. A recovery order works, and it can work quickly, but it works fastest when you move fast.
The next step
If you need help, you’re not alone. You can find contact details for key offices like the Family Court, the Federal Circuit Court, the Attorney-General’s Department, and the Passports Office on the Australian Federal Police website.
Support groups such as Relationships Australia and Family Relationships Online also offer counselling and guidance.
For legal help, a solicitor or Legal Aid may be able to support you with the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a recovery order?
A recovery order is an order of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia that can direct the police to find, recover and return a child to a parent or carer. It can also authorise police to stop and search a vehicle or enter premises to locate the child.
Who can apply for a recovery order?
A person the child lives with, spends time with or communicates with under a parenting order can apply. So can a person with parental responsibility, a grandparent, or another person concerned with the child’s care, welfare or development. You can apply even if no parenting order is in place yet.
Can the police enforce a recovery order?
Yes. The police will not act on a withheld child without a court order, even where parenting orders exist. Once a recovery order is made, it is carried out by the Australian Federal Police (and state or territory police), who can find, recover and deliver the child.
How long does a recovery order last?
The court sets the period in the order itself, commonly up to 12 months. The order takes effect immediately once granted.
What happens if my child still cannot be found?
The court can make a Location Order or a Commonwealth Information Order to trace where the child is, and a Publication Order in limited cases. If the child has been taken overseas, the Hague Convention route may apply.
Can you stop a recovery order made against you?
You can respond to it and put your account before the court, and in some cases ask the court to discharge or vary the order. The child’s best interests remain the paramount consideration. Get legal advice before you act.