Supporting Carers Of Other People's Children - Australian Foster ...

Organising foster children’s passportsChildren’s passports are issued to a minorwho is aged under 18 years and has never beenmarried. Each child’s application for a passportstarts anew. Unlike an adult application, thereis no automatic ‘renewal’ for a child’s passport.For children and young people in out-of-homecare, processing a passport application is morecomplex and can take a minimum of five to sixweeks to be finalised. The Australian PassportOffice does not accept a priority fee when youlodge an application for a passport for a childin your care unless the consent of all personswith a parental responsibility has been obtainedprior to lodgment. Usually, paying a priority feeguarantees that an eligible applicant’s passportwill be ready for collection or despatch withintwo working days of a Passport Office receivingeverything it needs.However, once approval is given to issue achild’s passport, you can then pay a priority feeto speed up the application.What forms need to be filled in?There is a range of forms that you may needto fill in for a passport application for a childin your care. The forms are available frompost offices throughout Australia or fromthe Department of Foreign Affairs and TradePassports website at www.passports.gov.au.You should submit your foster child’s passportapplications on the form PC4 (the purple Child’sApplication). Extra forms may also be required,for example:• B7 ― No further court orders (to be filled inwhen a court order already exists)• B8 (two pages) ― Mother’s name only on abirth certificate. (Where there is a father’sname only on the birth certificate, contact thePassport Office for guidance)• B9 ― Child without full parental consent.Children under the care and protection of a stateor territory department also require a letter onofficial departmental letterhead permitting thechild to be issued with a travel document.Consent requirementsThe written consent of every person with a‘parental responsibility’ for a child must besubmitted before a passport is issued. For achild in your care, getting written consent couldinclude consent from:• a state or territory welfare department and allpersons with a parental responsibility for thechild• both birth parents (even if they no longerhave a parental role under the child protectionlaws of the state or territory)• any other persons included in a contact orcourt order for example, foster, relative orkinship carers and the state or territorywelfare department.Consent under Australian Government andstate and territory government lawsBecause of differences between AustralianGovernment and state and territory governmentlegislation, it may be necessary to consultthe parent or parents of the child about theapplication for the child’s passport, despitethe existence of a state or territory careand protection order that removes parentalresponsibility from the parent or parents. (Thepassport policy concerning care and protectionorders is currently under review.)If the required consents cannot be obtained:• a state or territory welfare department mayseek a court order to permit the child to leaveAustralia• when a care and protection order is madeby way of a court order, a state or territorywelfare department may include a clausein the order permitting the child to leaveAustralia at the discretion of, and with the soleconsent of, the relevant Minister• when a care and protection order removes aparent’s parental responsibility, the state orterritory welfare department may register theorder with the Family Court with authority toremove the requirement to obtain parentalconsent.When full consent is not given, or there isno court order that permits a child to leaveAustralia, you can make an application to thePassport Office Approved Senior Officer to havethe requirement for consent waived on the basisthat special circumstances exist.The normal timeframe for an application underspecial circumstances is three to four weeks, ontop of the normal 10-day processing time.The process may also include contacting theperson(s) whose consent has not been providedto seek their consent or reasons for nonconsent.An application to the Approved SeniorOfficer does not guarantee that a passportwill be issued, and it may still be necessaryto obtain a court order permitting the child toleave Australia.For more information about foster children’s passports, phone Australian PassportInformation Service on 13 1232, TTY 13 3677,Translating and Interpreting Services 13 1450 or visit the websitewww.passports.gov.au/Web/index.asp27