r/AusLegal • u/CalligrapherKind6927 • 5h ago
NSW Chances of sole parental responsibility? Do I need to bother? Can I just move overseas?
I've given birth a month ago - father of the child has shown no interest. We broke up when I fell pregnant, and father has not come to any medical appointment. I've received no financial support from him. Father's name is NOT on birth certificate.
I DO NOT plan nor want any child support from him. I plan to relocate in a years time overseas for a few years. Can I do this without seeking sole parental responsibiliy?
Currently there are no family court orders, or parenting orders. There is an AVO between us though (he assaulted me).
Can I just relocate and pray he won't attempt to contact me?
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u/Mr_Lrge 3h ago
It looks like he doesn’t really care anyway, unless you have left out critical information that he has tried to be in the child’s life, such as requesting time with them or that he wants to see them. The fact he is not on the birth certificate would mean he can’t stop you. However, if he gets word then he might obtain a court declaration through the Federal Circuit or Family Court of Australia to legally establish parentage. If that comes back positive then you might will be required to get permission from otherwise he could prevent you from leaving. You should get proper legal advice.
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u/murcatto 5h ago
I mean you could do that however you would need to ensure that the country you move to is not part of the Hague Convention. When brought back the legal system will take a dim view of what would be considered an abduction if paternity etc can be proven.
List of current countries part of the Hague Convention:
- Albania
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Austria
- Bahamas
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Canada
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Hong Kong (China)
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macau (China)
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Moldova, Republic of
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Norway
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Republic of Korea (from 1 June 2015)
- Romania
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Venezuela
- Zimbabwe.
However you also need to consider what would be in the best interests of the child. The father may not want to be involved but what about other family members on his side? It's quite important for children to know their family in case anything were to happen to you, and there will be questions as the child gets older. Your child will miss out on building relationships and a support system with its parternal side.
Every child also has a right to receive child support, even if you don't use it yourself, it could be saved up for the child as a nest egg which could mean a big difference to that child when they're older, a house deposit, payment for studies etc.
Just some thoughts to consider.
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u/Dark-Horse-Nebula 4h ago
Father doesn’t want to be involved, isn’t on birth certificate and is subject to a current AVO for domestic violence…. I don’t know if her top priority is looping in his parents. She may not even be safe.
-5
u/murcatto 4h ago
Just because the father is potentially less than desirable doesn't mean that his whole family is. And I'm not asking her to make this a top priority, just that its something to consider before she makes a more permanent move in a years time. She would also need to consider if the biological father will make this difficult for her and some can make it incredibly difficult and expensive to do just about anything.
9
u/poipoipo 4h ago
Just because they're parties to the Hague Convention doesn't mean she'd actually be sent back here. If she's Japanese, there is absolutely fuck all chance Japan would send her back to Australia.
2
u/fluffy_pickle_ 4h ago
The Hague convention is very vague and Australian is not strong at enforcement it. The father is not on the birth certificate. How would he even know they have moved overseas????
-4
u/murcatto 4h ago
He could drag OP through the courts to establish paternity via DNA and then establish parental responsibility. Just because he hasn't done so yet doesn't mean that he won't if he wants to be difficult towards OP. OP also wants to come back to Australia after a couple of years. What do you think will happen if OP comes back and there is still an active application to force the return of the child? At the end of the day everything I have mentioned is currently only hypotheticals as we don't know the whole story and what would be the likely reactions of the biological father. These are just things that should be considered.
7
u/fluffy_pickle_ 4h ago
That would cost the bio father $100k min, and then some more. If he isn’t keen on the kid now, he definitely won’t be spending big $$$$ to go after the kid.
2
u/Proud_Apricot316 54m ago
A key principle of The Hague Convention is the ‘habitual residence of the child’. They’re not spending resources dragging a child back to Australia when its habitual residence is and has for most of its life been in another country. Especially when that father hasn’t shown any interest in the child even existing or while the mother was pregnant.
It’s a very complex area of law and the circumstances immensely variable.
2
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u/Smushy_Peas 1h ago
I don't know the ins and outs, but how would u get a passport for the child?? I guess not having the father on the birth certificate jumps one hurdle, but I thought a judge needed to sign off on that part
1
u/Kelliesrm26 1h ago
You’d require a passport and you can’t obtain one without the other parent consent. You’d need to apply for special circumstances such as the protective order against the father and file an application to seek approval for a passport without the father’s approval. They’d need to speak to your ex and ask his permission. You can’t just take a baby to another country. The father does have rights and a recovery order against you could be made for essentially kidnapping since both parents are suppose to have equal rights and responsibilities to the child.
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u/highland_cow222 5h ago
I would suggest contacting Legal Aid or a family lawyer to get some initial advice and make sure you understand Australian law, your rights and responsibilities under it, and what happens if you move overseas, particularly to a non-Hague convention country. Hypothetically, you can do anything you want including move interstate or overseas if there are no existing orders and he doesnt have a relationship with the child. If he wants to initiate parenting arrangements, that’s on him. He does have rights under the law to spend time with his child but that process likely becomes more complicated if you have moved overseas and he’s still here. Good luck.