Contravention of Parenting Orders Australia: What Happens When a Parent Breaches Custody Orders

When Parenting Orders Aren't Being Followed

Consent orders and court-made parenting orders carry the same legal weight as any court judgment. Ignoring them — withholding the child, refusing changeover, denying phone contact, or making major decisions without the other parent — is a contravention of court orders under Part VII of the Family Law Act 1975.

The distinction between a parenting plan and consent orders matters here. A parenting plan, even a written and signed one, is not enforceable through the court's contravention provisions. Only orders made by the FCFCOA (including consent orders) are subject to enforcement. If you're working with a parenting plan and the other parent isn't following it, your first step is to formalise the arrangement into consent orders.

How to File a Contravention Application

A contravention application is filed with the FCFCOA using the Contravention Application (Form 2) via the Commonwealth Courts Portal. You do not need a Section 60I certificate for a contravention application — the mandatory mediation requirement applies to parenting applications, not enforcement applications.

Your application needs to specify:

• Which order was breached — cite the exact paragraph number from the sealed orders.
• When the breach occurred — dates, times, and specific facts.
• What the other parent did or failed to do — withholding the child for a weekend, refusing phone contact, changing schools without consent.
• What evidence you have — text messages, emails, school records, third-party witness statements.

The Two-Tier Penalty System

Australian family law distinguishes between less serious and more serious contraventions:

Less serious contravention: The breaching parent had a "reasonable excuse" — for example, the child was genuinely sick and could not travel, or the parent misunderstood the order due to ambiguous wording. Consequences may include a warning, make-up time, a requirement to attend a parenting program, or an order to pay the other parent's costs.

More serious contravention (without reasonable excuse): When there is no reasonable excuse, penalties escalate significantly:

• Make-up time to compensate for lost parenting time
• Community service orders
• Fines
• Variation of the existing parenting orders (potentially reducing the breaching parent's time)
• Imprisonment (reserved for the most extreme cases — deliberate, repeated defiance of court orders)

The "reasonable excuse" defence is narrow. It does not cover general disagreement with the orders, the child's stated preference (unless the child is mature and the refusal is genuinely their own), or a new partner's objections.

Recovery Orders

If a parent takes or keeps a child in defiance of parenting orders, the other parent can apply for a Recovery Order under Section 67Q. A recovery order directs the Australian Federal Police or state police to locate and return the child.

These applications can be made urgently, including outside of normal court hours, when there is an immediate risk. The court can also make orders requiring the respondent parent to surrender the child's passport and placing the child on the Family Law Watchlist to prevent removal from Australia.

Practical Steps Before Filing

Courts look unfavourably on contravention applications filed over trivial disputes — returning the child 20 minutes late once, or a single missed phone call. Before filing, consider:

1. Document the pattern. One missed changeover might be an honest miscommunication. A pattern of repeated non-compliance is more significant than a one-off issue.
2. Communicate in writing. Send a calm, factual message reminding the other parent of the specific order and asking them to comply. This creates a record that you attempted to resolve it without court intervention.
3. Keep records. A log of dates, times, and what happened is more persuasive than a general complaint about the other parent being "difficult."

The South Australia Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide covers how to draft orders with enough specificity to be enforceable — vague orders like "reasonable time" are nearly impossible to enforce, while precise orders with dates, times, and locations give you a clear basis for a contravention application if needed.

See more South Australia guides →