Location and Commonwealth Information Orders (Applicant) - Western Australia

Will the applicant be told where the child is?: No. Information provided under a location order may be disclosed only to court registrars and officers, a court-engaged process server, persons directed to act under a recovery order, or with the court's leave to the applicant's legal adviser or a process server engaged by that adviser, and nothing permits disclosure to the applicant (s 148). The same restriction applies to Commonwealth information orders (s 67P Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)).

How long do location and recovery orders last?: A location order stays in force for 12 months or a longer period the court considers appropriate (s 146(4)), a State information order for 12 months (s 147(6)), and a recovery order for 12 months or a shorter period specified in it (s 155(1)). A Commonwealth information order may require a one-off search or periodic searches for up to 12 months (s 67N(5) Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)).

Jurisdiction: Family Court of Western Australia, under Part 5 Division 8 Subdivision 3 (Location and recovery of children) of the Family Court Act 1997 (WA), whose provisions correspond to ss 67J to 67Y of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), and Division 3 of the Family Court Rules 2021 (WA) on location and recovery orders.

The Process at a Glance: Take urgent instructions, assess risk and identify everyone likely to hold information about the child. Draft the application in a case, the supporting affidavit with full and frank disclosure if orders are sought without notice, and minutes of the location, information and recovery orders sought. Have the affidavits sworn before an independent authorised witness and lodge the package for a hearing within 14 days. Serve any information order application on the State entity or Commonwealth department in time for the 7-day period. Attend the hearing, then seek leave before location information is passed to the firm or its process server, provide the recovery order to the police or other authorised persons, notify the child's return and attend the return hearing.

Key Legislation: Family Court Act 1997 (WA) ss 143 to 157; Family Court Rules 2021 (WA) rr 84, 87, 88 and 442 to 445; Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) ss 67J to 67P; Oaths, Affidavits and Statutory Declarations Act 2005 (WA) s 9.

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