Hi there. It sounds like your sister is in a difficult position. If the child was born in Australia and has at least one Australian parent, the child will be an Australian citizen. This means the child needs an Australian passport to travel internationally. Before a passport can be issued, the law requires written consent of each person who has parental responsibility for the child. This is usually the child’s parents. If written consent is provided by the parents, an application for a child passport can be lodged in the usual way.

However, from the information you provided, it sounds like the father is not willing to sign the application for the child’s Australian passport. If written consent is not provided by the father, your sister can lodge a written application (Form B9) with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that explains why she cannot obtain the father’s consent and requesting that a passport be issued to her child due to ‘special circumstances’. Special circumstances can include, but is not limited to, an inability to contact the other parent or the existence of a family violence order against the other parent. More information (including a copy of Form B9) is available at www.passports.gov.au. Note that child passport applications that do not include consent of both parents can take longer to process than normal applications.

If your sister’s request to issue her child’s passport due to ‘special circumstances’ is not successful, she can apply to a court for an order permitting the child to travel internationally. In considering this application, the court will only permit the child to travel internationally if the court determines that it is in the best interests of the child.

Your sister should be aware that, if the father does not consent to his child leaving Australia, he can take steps to prevent a passport being issued to the child or otherwise prevent the child from leaving Australia. He can do this by lodging an alert with the Australian Passport Office or applying to court for an order restraining the child’s departure from Australia.