2011年09月19日 National News theage.com.au 『Government to close child ‘abduction’ loophole』
Government to close child ‘abduction’ loophole
A LOOPHOLE that has allowed separated parents to in effect abduct children overseas is set to be closed and for the first time the Family Court will be given the power to stop child payments to parents who attempt such abductions.
The measures – stronger than anything flagged previously – will be put before Parliament in the first half of next year in response to what Attorney-General Robert McClelland says is an unimaginable horror happening at an unacceptable rate.
”On average, two to three children are wrongfully removed from Australia or retained in another country every week by one of their parents,” he says.
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”Being forced to go through the experience of having your child taken away to another country is unimaginable for any parent. Abduction can have severe emotional, psychological and financial impacts.”
Although it is illegal to take a child overseas without the consent of the other parent, it is not illegal to keep a child overseas when it is taken abroad with consent for a holiday.
The Family Law Council recommended last March the loophole be closed.
In considering the recommendation, Mr McClelland and Families Minister Jenny Macklin wrote to the council in August asking whether they should go further and legislate to allow the Family Court to suspend the need for the parent left behind to pay child support.
The council said they should and that child support payments should not accrue while children were detained illegally.
The changed approach marks a departure from the usual rule that child support should always be paid, regardless of access.
”Child support should usually be paid in the best interest of the child,” Ms Macklin said. ”But when children are wrongfully kept outside Australia, the left-behind parent is unable to effectively access the Australian legal system. The family law courts are best placed to make a decision about whether suspending support is in the child’s best interests.”
Recommending the change, the council stressed it would not apply if a child had been moved against a parent’s will in Australia ”as a parent in this situation would have the option of seeking assistance through the Australian family law system”.
The maximum penalty for the new offence of wrongfully retaining a child overseas will be three years’ jail.
About 125 children were wrongfully removed or retained overseas last year.
