Relocation: We're on friendly terms, should I worry about getting Orders

Do you need Parenting Consent Orders

If you do not take steps to stop the other parent relocating with your child, it may be too late to do so later or to reverse the situation once it has happened.

You’ve just separated, you’re all living in the same area, nobody’s thinking about relocation, you’ve reached agreement on living arrangements for the Children, it’s working and you don’t want to rock the boat, you want to keep it amicable.

That’s a common situation.

But things change:

A parent might be offered a better job;
They might be offered a promotion in another area;

They may want to move to where they have more family support or assistance;
They may want to move back to where they are from;
Your former spouse will eventually get a new partner. Their new partner might live somewhere else (especially in this age of internet dating);
Your former spouse will re-partner and that new partner might get a job somewhere else;
They may feel like a fresh start in a different area.

Any one of these things could have you facing a situation where you wake up and find out your former partner has moved somewhere else without telling you.

People on the friendliest of terms will still look after themselves first and choose not to tell you something they know you won’t agree with, if they can get away with it.

The best time to get your former partner to agree to a clause preventing them from relocating is before their circumstances change and they start thinking about it.

They will usually be happy to agree if they do not intend to move anywhere else.

If you are on friendly terms, then it should be easy to get your agreement into Consent Orders.

If you have Consent Orders including a relocation clause then everyone knows where they stand and all cards are on the table.

If your former spouse doesn’t want to have Consent Orders including a Relocation Clause, then you may want to ask why not – are they hiding something or hedging their bets to keep options open for the future.

Generally, the Court cannot prevent a parent from relocating to live somewhere else, however the Court does have the power to stop them from taking their child with them or Order the return of the child, with or without the parent.

Relocation – More Information

The sorts of things a Court wants to know, this issues and what a considers if they are deciding a case involving a parent who either has already moved away or who wants to move away, is explained in the information sheet How does a court decide Relocation cases if a parent moves away or wants to move away.

If you already have a Court Order or are getting a Court Order then you should also read our information sheet Court Orders & Relocation explained in full.

Our information sheet The other parent might Relocate: Do I need to do anything might also be helpful to you.

Relocation, Domestic & International Child Abduction: More Information

We also have the following pages providing additional information in relation to both Relocation of a Parent with a Child within Australia (domestically) and International Child Abduction:

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