Key points
- Ask the family court for an urgent listing: a new case by Initiating Application with interim orders ($610), an existing case by Application in a Proceeding ($155), from 1 July 2026.
- File with it an affidavit, the Notice of Child Abuse, Family Violence or Risk, any family violence order, and a cover letter explaining the urgency.
- A registrar considers it as a priority; if accepted, a hearing at the earliest available time. In extreme cases the court can act immediately and without notice to the other party.
- No mediation certificate is needed if the court grants an exemption, for example for urgency or a risk of family violence or child abuse.
- Child at risk of being taken overseas: the court can ask the AFP to put the child on the Family Law Watchlist; the court usually sends the order to the AFP the same day. Out of hours: 1300 352 000.
- If anyone is in danger right now, call 000.
- For a family lawyer, call 1800 577 015 at any hour: free general legal information, and a 60-minute consultation with a family lawyer in your state for a fixed $295.
To get an urgent parenting order in Australia, you file an application asking for an urgent listing, with an affidavit, the Notice of Child Abuse, Family Violence or Risk and a cover letter; a registrar considers it as a priority, and in extreme cases the court can act immediately without notice to the other party.
Checked on 23 October 2026 against the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), the family law rules, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia's urgent-application page and fee schedule, the Family Court of Western Australia, and the Australian Federal Police.
What to file
| Your situation | What to file | Fee (from 1 July 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| No case yet, parenting orders only | Initiating Application, asking for interim orders including an urgent listing | $610 |
| No case yet, parenting and financial orders | Initiating Application with interim orders | $895 |
| A case is already running | Application in a Proceeding asking for an urgent listing | $155 |
With it, file: an affidavit setting out the facts (Affidavit – Family law and child support); the Notice of Child Abuse, Family Violence or Risk, if not already filed, with an affidavit of the evidence for each allegation; a copy of the most recent family violence order, if there is one; and a cover letter explaining why the case is urgent, pointing to the paragraphs of your affidavit. Unless you have a family dispute resolution certificate, you also need the court to grant an exemption (see below). Other documents usually filed in a parenting case, such as the Genuine Steps Certificate and the Parenting Questionnaire, may be required later. Fee exemptions are available for concession card holders and people in financial hardship.
How fast the court can act
- A registrar considers urgent requests as a priority, on the papers. If accepted, the court gives an interim hearing date at the earliest available time. If not, the case goes into the ordinary list, where the first court date is set, where possible, 1 to 2 months after filing.
- In extremely urgent situations the court can deal with the matter "immediately, and without notice to the other party", in the court's words. You must meet rule 5.11 of the family law rules: show why serving the application on short notice would not do, and disclose everything relevant, including any family violence history, earlier cases and orders. A without-notice application is emailed to the registry, not filed through the online portal. An order made without notice lasts only until a set time or the next hearing, and must be served on the other party personally.
- No court source sets a fixed timeframe such as 24 or 48 hours.
- Allegations of abuse or family violence in the Notice must be dealt with quickly: interim or protective orders as soon as practicable and, where appropriate, within 8 weeks.
- No parent available because of a death, critical injury or jailing linked to family violence: the court's Critical Incident List deals with these.
Family dispute resolution
Urgency is an exception to the family dispute resolution certificate, the pre-action steps and the duty to try to settle first. Since 10 June 2025 the exemption from family dispute resolution must be granted by the court: ask for it by affidavit in the court's approved form, setting out the urgency (or the reasonable grounds to believe there has been, or is a risk of, family violence or child abuse). Without a certificate or an exemption, the court must reject a parenting application.
If a child may be taken overseas
- Taking or sending a child overseas while a parenting order is in force, or while a case is pending, without the other party's authenticated written consent or a court order, is a crime with up to 3 years' jail; so is keeping a child overseas longer than allowed.
- The Family Law Watchlist (often called the Airport Watch List): the court can order that the child not be taken out of Australia and ask the Australian Federal Police to list the child. The AFP says the court usually sends it the order the same day. Where only an application has been filed, you can send the sealed application and the AFP's request form to Alerts@afp.gov.au. If removal is imminent, call the AFP on +61 2 5127 0004.
- Passports: the court can order passports and travel documents handed in, and a child alert can stop a passport being issued.
- Out of hours: if a child may be taken out of Australia before the next working day, call the court on 1300 352 000 to be referred to its emergency service.
- A child already taken overseas: the Hague Convention may apply; contact the Attorney-General's Department on 1800 100 480.
Getting a child back
- A recovery order can require a child's return and authorise people (usually the AFP) to find, recover and deliver the child, by force if necessary. It lasts for the period stated or 12 months, whichever is shorter. Ask for it in an Application in a Proceeding, or within your application for parenting orders.
- Location and information orders can require people or government agencies to give information about where a child is.
- The court does not recover children itself; usually the AFP does, under the order. Police cannot enforce a parenting order without a recovery order.
- Injunctions can protect a child or a parent; police can arrest without a warrant for a breach of a personal-protection injunction.
Western Australia
In Western Australia, apply to the Family Court of Western Australia: an Initiating Application (Form 1) or, in an existing case, Form 2, with the same fees ($610 and $155). Ask for an urgent hearing by letter to the Duty Registrar explaining why; the court's page says it will deal with an application the same day if necessary, and that otherwise the first hearing is usually 42 days after filing. The family dispute resolution certificate in WA is issued under the Family Court Act 1997 (WA). Outside court hours, Crisis Care is on 1800 199 008.
Costs
Each party usually pays their own costs. The court can order otherwise, considering matters such as means, conduct, breaches of orders and whether a party was wholly unsuccessful.
Free help
| Service | Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Family Relationship Advice Line (information, referrals, phone family dispute resolution) | 1800 050 321 | 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm Saturday, local time |
| 1800RESPECT (family, domestic and sexual violence) | 1800 737 732 | 24 hours, 7 days |
| Child Support (Services Australia) | 131 272 | 8:30am to 4:45pm, Monday to Friday |
| LawAccess NSW (Legal Aid NSW) | 1300 888 529 | 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday |
| Victoria Legal Aid | 1300 792 387 | 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday |
| Legal Aid Queensland | 1300 65 11 88 | 8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday |
| Legal Aid WA Infoline | 1300 650 579 | 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday |
| Legal Services Commission SA | 1300 366 424 | 9am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday |
| Tasmania Legal Aid | 1300 366 611 | 8:45am to 5pm, Monday to Friday |
| Legal Aid ACT Helpline | 1300 654 314 | 8:30am to 7pm Monday to Thursday; 8:30am to 5pm Friday |
| Legal Aid NT | 1800 019 343 | 8am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday |
The court's Family Advocacy and Support Services give free legal and social support at court to people affected by family violence. Legal aid offices also run family dispute resolution for eligible people. The court says you do not need a lawyer to apply; its staff cannot give legal advice.
How Go To Court Lawyers can help
Our free line, 1800 577 015, answers at any hour. Jen, our AI legal information assistant, gives general legal information and takes your details; Jen is not a lawyer and does not give advice about your case. A 60-minute consultation with a family lawyer who practises in your state is a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person where the lawyer offers it. The lawyer can advise whether your situation is urgent, help you prepare the affidavit and orders, and explain the Watchlist and recovery orders. Requests are taken at any hour; how soon a lawyer can see you depends on who is available. Request a $295 consultation.
General information only, not legal advice. Updated 23 October 2026. Checked against the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), compilation 101, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (compilation 4, including rules 5.11 and 5.12), the court's Parenting Practice Direction, its "My application is urgent" page and fee schedule (fees from 1 July 2026), the Family Court of Western Australia, the Australian Federal Police's Family Law Watchlist page, the Attorney-General's Department, Family Relationships Online and the legal aid commissions, on 23 October 2026 (Legal Aid NT's helpline hours from the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal's help page, read 22 October 2026).