International Child Abduction

A recount of a Marsdens Child Abduction Family Law Case: Paige & Bellanger [2026]

Australia’s family law system treats international child abduction as a very serious breach of parenting orders. The 2026 Full Court decision in Paige & Bellanger is a key case demonstrating how third parties, especially extended family, can be held liable when they intentionally assist a parent to breach Australian parenting orders.

This case sends a powerful message: you do not need to be personally bound by parenting orders to face imprisonment for helping someone else break them.

What Happened?

The case involved two children habitually resident in Australia and living with their mother. During a trip to Africa to visit family, the father, who had been living overseas since separation, devised a plan to prevent the children returning to Australia with the mother. With the support of his mother, Ms Paige (the paternal grandmother), he coordinated:

• A fraudulent arrest warrant for the mother;
• The mother’s imprisonment for 13 days;
• The violent removal of the children by motorcycle; and
• The children’s continued retention in Africa.

The grandmother travelled from Melbourne to Africa to assist the father and remained actively involved in the plan.

When the mother returned to Australia without the children, she commenced contravention proceedings against both the father and the grandmother.

The grandmother participated in the proceedings; the father did not as he was overseas.

The Court’s Findings: Third-Party Liability Is Real

The Court found that the following counts were proven beyond reasonable doubt:

• That the father had contravened the parenting orders; and
• That the grandmother had aided and abetted that contravention.

Although the paternal grandmother was not personally bound by the orders, the Court held that: “She was not a passive bystander… [Her] words and actions encouraged the father to remove the children… The consequence of her complicity was to enable the father’s continuing retention of the children.”

This finding was grounded in s 70NAC(b)(ii) of the Family Law Act 1975, which makes it an offence to intentionally assist a person to breach a parenting order.

The grandmother was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment and was prohibited from leaving Australia until the youngest child turns 18. Importantly, this was used as a way to coerce the father to comply with the parenting orders and return the children.

The Appeal

The paternal grandmother appealed the decision and argued the following:

• That her “influence” over the father was irrelevant;
• She was being punished for the father’s decisions; and
• She was not a party to the original parenting proceedings.

The Full Court rejected all grounds and dismissed her appeal.

Why Was the Appeal Dismissed?

The Court held that her influence explained how she was able to assist the father and why her involvement aggravated the seriousness of the breach. If a third party is aware of the orders and intentionally assists someone in breaching them, that can establish liability. Even after the children were taken, the paternal grandmother continued to support their retention overseas. This demonstrated a lack of remorse and increased the risk of continued non-compliance.

Key Legal Principles from Paige & Bellanger:

• Third parties can be prosecuted for aiding or abetting a breach of parenting orders.
• Knowledge + intentional assistance = liability, even if the person is not bound by the orders.
• Influence over the parent can be a relevant sentencing factor.
• International child abduction is treated with utmost seriousness, especially where children are habitually resident in Australia.
• Imprisonment is a real possibility for extended family members who involve themselves in contraventions.

Why This Case Matters:

This decision sends a strong deterrent message:

• Family members cannot hide behind the excuse that they were “not bound by the orders”.
• Courts will not tolerate schemes designed to undermine Australian parenting orders, especially across international borders.
• The safety and stability of children remain paramount, and the Court will use its full powers to enforce compliance.

Paige & Bellanger confirms that third parties who knowingly assist in international child abduction can be held criminally liable and even imprisoned, even if they were never bound by the original parenting orders.