Policies
5. Family Law Matters – when legal aid is available
5.10. International child abduction
Legal aid is available for the following types of international abduction matters:
- to defend an application to the court against proceedings brought by Family and Community Services under the Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations 1986 (Cth) for
- the return of a child who has been removed from a convention country to, or retained in, Australia, or
- for access to a child who is living in Australia
- to make an application to the court under the Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations 1986 (Cth) for a declaration that the removal of a child from Australia to a convention country, or the retention of a child in a convention country, is wrongful within the meaning of the Convention.
To be eligible for legal aid the applicant must satisfy:
- the Means Test
- the Merit Test
Note: Legal Aid funding is availabile for Family Dispute Resolution for these types of matters.
Date Last Published: 05/12/2022