Family Law: Enforcement of Court Orders: What about Parenting Orders?

While it is good to know that court orders can be enforced, if you are a parent and have recently been through family law proceedings, it is especially important that you know that parenting orders can also be enforced. See here our blog post on Enforcement of Orders – Importance of Court Orders.

See here our blog post on what is considered in a parenting matter.

Once a parenting order has been made, every person affected by the order must follow it. If the order is not followed, that party will be breaching the parenting order.

The Family Courts have significant enforcement powers when it comes to orders about children. If a party has breached a parenting order, that party is liable to fines and even imprisonment.

If a party believes that the other party is breaching or intending to breach a parenting order, a contravention application supported by an affidavit may be filed to prevent that person from committing the breach. In saying so, however, there are a variety of methods available for parties to enforce the orders of the Court and these methods differ depending on the orders being breached and the nature of the breach.

In some circumstances it is possible to ask the Federal Police to locate and return your children to you.

In our next few posts, we will consider a parent’s obligations under a parenting order and how a parenting order can be changed once it is in force. Very importantly, we will also explain what happens when one parent doesn’t comply with the parenting order in force.

If you have a family law matter, concerns about how to get a family law parenting order or questions about family law and the enforcement of parenting orders in NSW and want to find out more please do not hesitate to contact us on 9688 6023 or email us at info@franklegal.com.au.

This article is provided to the reader for general information. It is not legal advice. It was written by Karla Elias and edited by Andrea Spencer.

More from the blog:

Defining Best interests of the Child

Reaching an Agreement about Parenting

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