Check consent for a child's passport where a care order is in force
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the order and the application, list every person the passport office's page treats as having parental responsibility, whether that person's consent is on the form, and whether an order permits a passport, international travel, or the child living or spending time outside Australia. Do not complete the application and do not sign a consent.
- What the lawyer must review
- The lawyer decides whose consent is required and what is lodged. The Australian Passport Office states that full parental consent means every person with parental responsibility agrees, and that each such person completes sections 12 to 15 of the application. A person with parental responsibility includes each parent on the birth certificate, a person with guardianship or custody, and a person who has parental responsibility under a Commonwealth, state or territory law. An order under the Family Law Act 1975, or under the Western Australian Family Court Act 1997, that removes parental responsibility means that person's consent is not required, but all relevant orders, including the most recent, are provided. Other orders may give custody, guardianship or parental responsibility under a state or territory child-welfare law. If there are such orders, the page says to complete a B10 form. The guide for children subject to a welfare or protection order was not opened, so its contents are not stated. A passport may issue without full consent if an Australian court order permits the child to have a passport, to travel internationally, or to live or spend time with a person outside Australia. The application then includes originals of all orders about the child and a B7 form. If there is no full consent and no such order, the applicant may ask for a special-circumstances assessment, which the office does not guarantee and which is not eligible for faster processing. Foreign orders count only if registered under the Family Law Act or the Western Australian Family Court Act. A consent signature is witnessed by a person over 18 who is not related by birth or marriage, is not a person with parental responsibility, is not in a de facto or registered relationship with such a person, and does not live at the same address. The lawyer does not treat a carer's day-to-day consent to school or medical care as consent to a passport.
- Written for / version
- US
Open a jurisdiction version of this task to see which instruments apply: US
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the order and the application, list every person the passport office's page treats as having parental responsibility, whether that person's consent is on the form, and whether an order permits a passport, international travel, or the child living or spending time outside Australia. Do not complete the application and do not sign a consent. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Match every person with parental responsibility on the current orders to a consent, or to an order that removes that responsibility or that permits the passport.
- If a child-welfare order is on the file, check that a B10 form is in the lodge pack. If an order permits the passport or the travel, check that a B7 form and the original orders are in the pack.
- Confirm no consent page is signed by the tool, and that a carer's authority for schooling or treatment is not recorded as passport consent.
Sources
- Australian Passport Office: Parental consent · 2026-10-22
These are suggested working checks. Confirm the required checking with the responsible lawyer before work starts; the checking approach does not establish permission to use AI.