WA Non-biological Father's Rights to Travel with Child?

[Kim89]

Hi everyone,

I have a question regarding my daughter's "non" biological father. My ex that I am still very good friends with has been my daughter's daddy even before I fell pregnant and has been there to raise, child support and support to me, and love her like she was his own. She is now 3 and questions are starting to arise regarding going on holidays, rights, etc., towards her. What rights under family law does he have as a non-biological father? He is an absolutely wonderful dad and I would like to hope that he has some kind of rights as a father to her.

Thanks

 

[AllForHer]

I would suggest this is dependent on the situation relating to the biological father.

Is the biological father involved in his daughter's life?

 

[Kim89]

He has absolutely no involvement with her what so ever never has and probably never will

 

[AllForHer]

Well, summarily, children have a right to know, spend time and communicate with people relevant to their care, which includes step-parents. Step-parents include de facto partners, but if this was to ever come before court, your challenge would be convincing the court that your ex is a person of relevance to the child (though I'm not entirely sure why it would come before court since it seems amicable anyway).

In terms of things like child support, family benefits and that kind of thing, you probably won't have any luck, but if the father isn't involved, perhaps you could investigate adoption?

 

[Kim89]

We were more concerned about weather or not he can take our daughter overseas if he wanted to take her on a holiday as Im able to do this because I'm on the birth certificate but there is no dad on there

 

[AllForHer]

Ah, this is a bit more tricky.

Passports require consent of both parents, but if you're unable to find the biological father, you may apply to the court to bypass needing the father's consent. Ordinarily, this coincides with the acquisition of sole parental responsibility, but for some parents, simply starting this process can result in sudden interest from the other party in raising their child.

For information about this, look here: Passports - Children and parental consent

Also, you may want to have a look here for information about registering the father on the birth certificate: Add the father to your child's birth registration | Your rights, crime and the law | Queensland Government

 

[Kim89]

Really even though he's not on the birth certificate? I can leave the country as I have done before and didn't need the "sperm donors" permission

 

[AllForHer]

Did you leave the country with the child? Did the child have a passport?

 

[Kim89]

Yes I did go with her and yep she has her own passport because there's no father on the birth certificate just me.

 

[AllForHer]

Well, if you give consent for him to travel with her, that's the extent of it - it doesn't need any further legal consideration. The laws about consent are there to protect children from being absconded overseas by the either parent. Once you have the passport, though, travel is at the discretion of the parents.

Just to be sure, I would probably contact the Australian Passport Office to see if he needs a letter proving you have provided consent for her to travel. Just to be sure.