The Hague Convention
If you wish to have your child returned from overseas, you're in a stronger position if the country they've gone to is a party to the Hague Convention.
Getting a child returned from overseas
It helps significantly if the destination country is a Hague Convention signatory. To prevent a child from leaving Australia in the first place, they should be added to the Airport Watch List.
What is a Hague Convention case?
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is an international treaty under which arrangements are made for the return of children wrongfully removed from, or retained outside, their country of habitual residence. Each signatory nation designates a central authority to handle return applications — in Australia, this is the Attorney-General's Department.
Guiding principles
A rapid response protects a child's welfare when a parent removes them from their country of habitual residence, and prevention of child abduction is a core aim. The Convention seeks to secure the prompt return of wrongfully removed or retained children to their state of habitual residence, respect custody and access rights, and enable the habitual residence court to make custody decisions.
When it applies
Only between signatory nations, covering children under 16 years old, where the child habitually resided in a contracting state before the custody or access rights were breached.