Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Hague Convention) is a multilateral treaty in force between Australia and several other countries. It provides a lawful procedure for seeking the return of abducted children to their home country. It also assists parents to contact or get access to children overseas.

As the Australian Central Authority, we administer the Hague Convention for Australia.

You can contact the Australian Central Authority if you have any general questions about the Hague Convention, the process for making an application to have a child returned to Australia, or an application for access.

Please note we cannot provide legal advice.

Visit the international parental child abduction page for information on how to make a Hague Convention application, including the application form.

We also have a fact sheet for legal practitioners.

Hague Convention countries

We can only help you with a Hague return or access application if your child is in a Hague Convention country (listed below), and the Hague Convention is in force between Australia and that country.

The Hague Convention is in force between Australia and the following countries:

The below countries have acceded to the Hague Convention, but it is not yet in force between these countries and Australia:

• Seychelles—acceded in May 2008
• Morocco—acceded in March 2010
• Gabon—acceded in December 2010
• Andorra—acceded in April 2011
• Russia—acceded in July 2011
• Guinea—acceded in November 2011
• Lesotho—acceded in June 2012
• Kazakhstan—acceded in June 2013
• Iraq—acceded in March 2014
• Zambia—acceded in August 2014
• Philippines—acceded in March 2016
• Pakistan—acceded in December 2016
• Jamaica—acceded in February 2017
• Tunisia—acceded in July 2017
• Cuba—acceded in September 2018
• Guyana—acceded in February 2019
• Barbados—acceded in December 2019
• Cabo Verde—acceded in October 2022
• Botswana—acceded in November 2022

If your child has been abducted to a country where the Hague Convention is not yet in force for Australia, you cannot seek a return to Australia under the Hague Convention.

For more information on the Hague Convention, including a status table for each signatory country and the most up-to-date country information, visit the Hague Conference on Private International Law website.

Australia also has bilateral agreements on child welfare with Egypt and Lebanon – the Australia Egypt Agreement and the Australia-Lebanon Agreement.

If your child is in a non-Hague Convention country, you may want to seek private legal advice in that country about your options. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) may be able to provide some limited consular help to parents whose children are located overseas. Depending on the legal and social services framework of the foreign jurisdiction, this may include providing a list of local lawyers, and facilitating liaison with local authorities and child welfare agencies.

Call: 1300 555 135 (24-hour consular service), or visit the support and assistance page for more resources.