Relocation — can I move with the children after separation?

In this guide(10 sections)

A new job in Brisbane. Family support back in Perth. A fresh start somewhere the rent isn't crushing you. After a separation, the urge to move — to start again somewhere that feels like yours — can be powerful, and entirely understandable. But if you share children with your former partner, the question "can I just move?" turns out to be one of the most delicate in all of family law, because a move that's right for you can quietly reshape your child's relationship with their other parent. I see this from both sides every week: the parent who needs to go, and the parent terrified of losing day-to-day contact with their kids. Both sets of feelings are real. Here's the honest, plain-English version of how the law approaches it — calmly, and with your children at the centre.

At a glance — relocating with children

The short answer: If you share parenting and a proposed move would significantly change the other parent's time with your child — whether interstate, overseas, or a major move within your state — you generally cannot relocate the children unilaterally. You need the other parent's agreement or a court order. If you can't agree, the court decides based on the child's best interests, not either parent's wishes.

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What counts as "relocation" in family law?

People often assume relocation only means moving overseas or crossing a state border. It's broader than that. In family law, a relocation is any move that would significantly change the time and ease of contact between a child and one of their parents. That can be:

• Interstate — Melbourne to Brisbane, say, where regular weekly contact stops being practical.
• Overseas — which adds passport, jurisdiction and (sometimes) Hague Convention questions on top.
• A significant move within a state — Melbourne to a regional town several hours away can affect the other parent's time just as much as crossing a border. Distance, not the border, is what matters.

The key isn't kilometres on a map — it's the effect on the child's relationship with the other parent. A move across the city for a bigger house usually isn't a relocation in the legal sense. A move that turns alternate-weekend contact into a few weeks a year almost certainly is.

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Can one parent just move with the children?

This is the part that surprises people most, so I'll say it plainly. Where both parents are involved in the children's lives, neither parent has a unilateral right to relocate the children in a way that significantly affects the other parent's time. That's true whether or not you have parenting orders in place, and it doesn't depend on who the children "mainly" live with.

If you and the other parent agree, a move is straightforward — ideally you record the new arrangements in writing (a parenting plan or consent orders). If you don't agree, you can't simply pack up and go. You'll need to apply to the court for orders permitting the relocation, and the court will decide.

Why so cautious? Because the law treats a child's relationship with both parents as something worth protecting, and a move can't easily be undone once a child is settled in a new school and city. Moving first and asking permission later is one of the riskiest things a separated parent can do — I'll come to what can happen if you do, further down.

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How the court decides — the child's best interests

If parents can't agree, the court resolves a relocation dispute the same way it resolves any parenting question: by asking what is in the child's best interests. This is the paramount consideration under section 60CC of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). Importantly, the court is not deciding whether a parent is "allowed" to live where they choose — an adult can live wherever they like. It's deciding where the children will live, and what arrangement serves them best.

In a relocation case the court typically weighs things like:

• The child's relationship with each parent, and the practical reality of maintaining a meaningful relationship with the parent who'd be left behind if the move went ahead.
• The reason for the move — is it genuine and well-founded (employment, family and emotional support, housing, safety) or does it look designed to reduce the other parent's contact? Courts look closely at this, but a parent doesn't have to prove a "compelling" reason; a genuine, reasonable one is enough.
• The impact on the child — stability, schooling, community, extended family, and the child's own views (weighted by maturity).
• Safety — above all. Where there's been family violence, the safety of the child and the relocating parent can be decisive.
• Whether a workable alternative exists — for example, longer holiday blocks, video contact, and shared travel costs that genuinely preserve the relationship.

A point that's easy to miss: the court generally won't force a parent to stay somewhere against their will. What it can do is decide that the children stay — meaning a parent may face a hard choice between moving without the kids or staying to be near them. That's why getting this right at the start matters so much.

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The 2024 reforms — what changed

The family-law changes that took effect on 6 May 2024 reshaped how parenting matters, including relocation, are approached. The biggest shift: the old presumption of "equal shared parental responsibility" was removed. Previously the law started from a presumption that parents would share major long-term decisions, which people often confused with a presumption of equal time. That starting position is gone.

What's left is cleaner and more child-focused: the court works through a streamlined best-interests list under section 60CC, with the safety of the child and their carers front and centre, then the child's needs, views and the benefit of meaningful relationships where it's safe. For relocation, this means there's no formula and never was — no "the move is fine if the other parent still gets X days." Each case turns on its own children. (For the reforms in full, our 2026 parenting orders guide walks through them.)

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What a relocation application actually involves

If agreement isn't possible, the parent who wants to move (or the parent wanting to prevent a move) applies to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for parenting orders dealing with relocation. In broad strokes:

• Family dispute resolution first. Except where there's family violence or urgency, you're generally expected to genuinely attempt mediation before going to court, and to obtain a section 60I certificate.
• The application sets out the proposed move — where, why, and crucially the proposed new parenting arrangements (how the other parent's relationship with the child would be preserved: holiday blocks, video calls, travel arrangements, who bears the cost).
• Each parent files evidence about the child's life, the reasons for and against the move, and the practical realities.
• Often an interim hearing decides whether the child can move in the meantime, before the final hearing — sometimes the most important moment in the whole case, because the status quo is hard to reverse.
• A final hearing, if it doesn't resolve earlier, where a judge weighs the best-interests considerations and decides.

A strong relocation case isn't built on "I want to go." It's built on a clear, genuine reason for the move and a concrete, generous plan for keeping the child close to the other parent.

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What if a parent moves without consent?

Sometimes a parent moves the children without the other parent's agreement and without a court order. This is genuinely risky, and I want to be honest about why.

The parent left behind can apply to the court for a recovery order — an order requiring the child to be returned, which can authorise the Federal Police and state police to find and return the child. Courts can act quickly on these. Beyond that, an unauthorised move can be viewed as not supporting the child's relationship with the other parent, which is exactly the kind of conduct the best-interests test weighs — so it can count against the relocating parent when the substantive question is decided. In short, moving first can damage the very case you're trying to make.

There's an important exception: safety. Where a parent and child are escaping family violence, the rules around urgent relocation are different, and protective steps can be taken without first negotiating with an abusive partner. If that's your situation, say so to a lawyer immediately — the strategy changes entirely, and your safety comes first.

A worked example. Priya lives in Melbourne with her two children, aged 6 and 9, who spend alternate weekends and one weeknight with their dad, Tom. A year after separating, Priya is offered a senior role in Brisbane — better pay, and her parents are there to help with the kids. Tom is devastated; weekly contact would become impossible. Rather than booking flights, Priya gets advice early. They try mediation. Tom can't agree to the children living interstate, so Priya applies to the court, proposing that the children live with her in Brisbane but spend most school holidays with Tom, have video calls three evenings a week, and that she funds two return flights a year. The court weighs the genuineness of her reasons, the children's strong bond with both parents, and the workability of her proposal. The outcome isn't guaranteed either way — but because Priya moved through the process rather than around it, her case is judged on its merits, not undermined by a unilateral move. That ordering — advice and process first, packing later — is the single most important lesson I can pass on.

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The reality worth knowing

If you're bracing for a courtroom fight, here's some perspective. Research by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) has consistently found that the great majority of separated parents sort out their parenting arrangements without a judge deciding for them — through discussion, counselling, or family dispute resolution — with only a minority relying on courts as their main pathway. Relocation disputes are among the harder cases to settle because there's often no neat middle ground (you can't move "half" interstate), yet many still resolve by agreement once both parents see a realistic, child-focused proposal on the table. The court is the backstop, not the starting point.

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Frequently asked questions

Can I move interstate with my children after separation?

Generally not unilaterally, if the move would significantly affect the other parent's time with the children. You need either the other parent's agreement (ideally recorded in a parenting plan or consent orders) or a court order permitting the relocation. If you can't agree, you apply to the Federal Circuit and Family Court, which decides based on the children's best interests under section 60CC of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), not on either parent's preference.

Does it count as relocation if I only move a few hours away within the same state?

It can. Relocation in family law isn't about crossing a border — it's about whether the move would significantly change the other parent's time and contact with the child. A move several hours away within the same state that turns regular weekly contact into occasional visits is treated as a relocation, even though you haven't left the state.

What does the court look at in a relocation case?

The child's best interests, above all their safety. The court weighs the child's relationship with each parent and how a meaningful relationship could be maintained, the genuineness and reasons for the move, the impact on the child's stability and schooling, the child's own views (by maturity), and whether a workable arrangement (holiday blocks, video contact, shared travel costs) can preserve the relationship. There's no fixed formula — each case turns on its own children.

What happens if I move with the children without the other parent's consent?

It's risky. The other parent can apply for a recovery order requiring the child to be returned, which the court can grant quickly and which the police can enforce. An unauthorised move can also be seen as failing to support the child's relationship with the other parent, which may count against you when the court decides the longer-term arrangements. The exception is where you and the child are escaping family violence — get legal advice urgently if that's your situation.

Can the court stop me from moving?

The court can't force you, as an adult, to live anywhere. What it can decide is where the children live. So if the court isn't satisfied the move is in the children's best interests, it may order that the children stay — which can leave a parent choosing between moving without the children or staying to be near them. That's exactly why it's worth getting advice before you commit to a move.

Do I have to try mediation before going to court over a relocation?

Usually yes. Except where there's family violence or genuine urgency, you're generally expected to make a real attempt at family dispute resolution and obtain a section 60I certificate before filing. Many relocation disputes are resolved (or at least narrowed) at mediation once each parent sees a concrete, child-focused proposal — and even where it doesn't fully resolve, it shows the court you tried.

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When you'd like to think it through with someone

Relocation is rarely just a legal question — it's about your future, your children, and a former partner who may feel just as strongly the other way. You don't have to weigh all of that alone, and you certainly shouldn't make an irreversible move before you understand where you stand. The first conversation is free, in confidence, and there's no obligation — we'll talk through your reasons, your children, and the realistic options, honestly.

Reach out via our contact form, or call 03 4328 5084 and speak to Eliana, our assistant, who'll get your matter to Elisa quickly.

This guide is general information about Australian family law, not legal advice, and it doesn't create a lawyer–client relationship. Every family is different — please get advice about your own circumstances before acting, and certainly before relocating.

— Elisa