REFORM PACKAGE ยท SEPTEMBER 2026 ยท TO THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Family Law Order Compliance and Enforcement Reform Package
Orders without enforcement are symbolic.
Enforceable child-related orders, graduated offences, immediate recovery powers and accountable police enforcement, with a complete draft Bill.
The Problem
A parenting order is a binding judicial decision about what serves a child. Yet when a handover or return is deliberately ignored, the response is often weaker than for a breached bail condition or protection order. Police commonly treat it as a private family-law matter.
The parent who has lost time must document the breach, prepare an application and affidavit, file, serve and wait for a hearing. By then the child may have lost weeks or months, and some time, like a birthday or Father's Day, can never be restored. Worse, the delay can harden into a new status quo that later decisions have to take into account, rewarding the very conduct that breached the order.
The Proposal
This package does not ask police to decide parenting disputes. It asks Parliament to define enforceable conduct, let courts mark clear provisions as police-enforceable, create a live national orders register, and give police controlled recovery and arrest powers backed by safety exceptions and rapid judicial review. It builds on the Australian Law Reform Commission's 2019 findings on compliance with children's orders.
A Five-Layer Enforcement Model
None of the layers works alone.
01
Clear orders
Exact handover times, places and authorised recipients. Ambiguous provisions can't support criminal liability or forced recovery.
02
National verification
A live National Family Law Orders Register shows police the current order, stays, variations and safety restrictions.
03
Early compliance
A recorded police direction to comply, with a fair chance to comply or explain a genuine excuse.
04
Recovery
Under a court's police-enforceable declaration or a warrant, with the child delivered only to the person or service named in the order.
05
Investigation & arrest
Only where genuinely necessary, never on one party's allegation alone, with prompt court appearance and review.
Safeguards
Knowledge and intention must be proved. Genuine safety concerns are protected. Homes need a warrant except in emergencies, a judicial officer is available 24/7, and the law applies identically to every parent.
Graduated Offences
Liability rises with fault and harm. Accidental lateness, genuine misunderstanding and illness are not offences.
TIER 1
Intentional contravention
Knowingly and intentionally breaching a clear order. Up to 12 months or 60 penalty units.
TIER 2
Aggravated contravention
Repeat breaches, concealment, coercion, false location information or obstructing a special day. Up to 3 years.
TIER 3
Course of conduct
Three or more breaches intended to substantially or permanently defeat the order. Up to 5 years.
Every conviction carries a recorded finding and at least one real consequence, such as make-up time, compensation or a corrective sanction. Imprisonment is not automatic for a first offence; presumptive custody is reserved for repeat aggravated offending. A child's genuine refusal is assessed on the adult's conduct and reasonable efforts, not on the bare fact that time didn't happen.
What's Inside
An executive decision brief, analysis of the current law and its gaps, a complete draft Bill (new Divisions 13AA and 13AB of the Family Law Act), an explanatory memorandum, a human rights assessment, a police operational protocol, a prosecution and evidence framework, eight worked enforcement scenarios, answers to anticipated objections, model forms and a phased implementation plan.
What We're Asking the Government to Do
- Refer the package to the Attorney-General's Department for policy assessment.
- Obtain constitutional and operational advice on AFP and state police enforcement.
- Release a consultation paper and establish an inquiry into post-order compliance.
- Consult children, family-violence specialists, parents, police, courts and contact services.
- Develop exposure draft legislation and pilot the model.
- Publish national data on contraventions, recovery orders and enforcement delay.
Read the Full Reform Package
PDF ยท Includes the complete draft Bill
This is a policy and legislative reform proposal. It is not legal advice and is not a concluded allegation of criminal liability in any individual proceeding.