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Overview
It is an offence if someone doesn’t follow a court order. You can apply to have the Family Court enforce a ‘Parenting Order’ if someone isn’t following it. Usually, the Family Court will only do this after you’ve tried to work things out with the other people involved.
If your situation is urgent
The options below may not be right for you because of your situation. You may need to apply for an urgent court order instead because:
- someone is being violent or abusive towards you, your child, or both
- you or your child's personal safety is at risk
- waiting too long to get a court order (if you need one) may cause financial problems
- the other parent, legal guardian or whānau member is planning to take your child overseas without your permission.
A private parenting agreement cannot be enforced
The Court can’t enforce a private parenting arrangement (sometimes known as a parenting plan). If you want to enforce a private parenting arrangement, you will need to first apply for a ‘Parenting Order’.
Options to work things out with the other people involved
If it’s safe for you to try and work things out with the other people involved, you could try:
- talk with the person - they may have a reason why they’re not following the ‘Parenting Order’
- a Parenting Through Separation course - you don’t have to go to the same session as others named in the ‘Parenting Order’
- Family Dispute Resolution mediation service - they offer mediation services to help you work through issues.
Parenting Through Separation course
Family Dispute Resolution mediation service
If you have tried to work things out with the other people involved and someone is still not following the ‘Parenting Order’, you can apply to the Family Court to enforce the order.
What happens if my court order is enforced
Depending on what you ask for in your application and how serious your situation is, the Court may do any of the following.
- Have the person not following the ‘Parenting Order’ pay money to the Court (as a bond) or pay you financial compensation.
- Give a warning to the person not following the ‘Parenting Order’ (this is called admonishing).
- Change or cancel the ‘Parenting Order’, for example the Court could take away some of the time the person not following the ‘Parenting Order’ spends with the child.
- Issue an order or warrant if the breach is serious, or if the person has not followed this order or another order previously.
What happens if the court issues a warrant
Sometimes when you apply to the Family Court to enforce a court order, you may also need to apply for the court to issue a warrant. The Court may decide to issue a warrant to make someone follow the court order. This means your child will be picked up from the person who isn’t following the order. They can be picked up by the Police, a social worker, or someone else the court has approved as suitable.
If someone tries to stop the child being picked up, reasonable force may be used, if necessary. For most children this can be a very upsetting experience, so it is only ordered if there are no other options.
The Court won’t issue a warrant to pick up a child who is 16 years or older unless they agree or there are exceptional circumstances. Before you apply to have the Family Court issue a warrant, you should seriously consider if this is in your child’s best interest, and you have tried all other options that are safe.
If you’re considering applying to issue a warrant, you might find it helpful to talk to a lawyer.
How to apply
This process can only be used to enforce a ‘Parenting Order’. The Court can’t enforce a private parenting arrangement (sometimes known as a parenting plan).
Determine if you need an urgent decision from the court
When to apply for an urgent court order
If you think you need urgent help, you may find it helpful to talk to a lawyer.
Understand what you need
The application pack includes your application, affidavit, and information sheet. You may find the following information useful when you complete these forms.
Care of Children - Applying for a Court Order guide [PDF, 3.9 MB]
Applications and information sheets
If your application is not urgent, you’ll need to make sure everyone named as a party in the application has an exact copy of the application. This is called service.
How to file and serve documents
You need a BLUE or BLACK ballpoint pen if you choose to fill out the forms by hand.
A lawyer can help you apply for court orders and they may also represent you in court.
Complete an application form
Choose the form you need to complete.
Care of Children form generator
If you need an urgent decision, select ‘without notice’ in the ‘how you want to file’ field.
To have the forms sent to you, freephone the Ministry of Justice on 0800 224 733. You can also pick them up from the court.
You must print the forms single sided
If you need to, you can add ‘Issue a warrant’ to your application. You should seriously consider if this is in your child’s best interest before you apply for this.
Get all your documents together
Your application should include:
- a completed and signed application form, affidavit, and information sheet
- an exact copy for each person named on the application for the court. You must also keep a copy for yourself.
File your application
You can file your application electronically, by post, or in person. When you file your application, it must have the original signatures. You must file your application at the correct courthouse. If you file your application in person or by post, you’ll need to provide enough exact copies for everyone named as a party to your application and keep a copy for yourself.
Court staff will contact you if they need more information.
Fees when using the Family Court
You don’t need to pay a court filing fee for this application. There may be other fees involved when using the Family Court. This may include:
- lawyers’ fees and charges
- cost contribution orders
After you apply
Depending on your situation the judge may:
- admonish the party who is not following the order
- change or cancel the order
- issue a warrant
- order the person not following the order to give a bond to the court – if they don’t follow the order again the bond may not be given back to them
- order the person not following the order to reimburse you if you have incurred costs because they didn’t follow the order.
The Court will try to give a copy of your application to the other people named as parties in your application. They’ll be given the date and time they must file their response by and the date and time of the hearing.
If they respond, you'll be given a copy of their response.
Before a judge makes a decision, they may:
- want to hear from you in person
- appoint a lawyer for child to understand the child's views and present them to the court
- ask for a specialist, cultural, or social worker's report on your situation from a professional such as a psychologist or medical doctor
- decide to hold a case conference or a hearing, or both.
When your case will be finalised
How long it takes to finalise your case in court depends on the following.
- if a judge has asked for more information
- how long you or other people take to give any extra information a judge has asked for
- how soon the Family Court can look at your case (especially if a conference or hearing is needed)
- if a judge directs anyone involved in the case to attend out of court services (including Parenting Through Separation course, preparatory counselling, or Family Dispute Resolution mediation service)
- the number of adjournments made by the judge.
If you want to know how long your case may take, talk to your lawyer.
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Resources in other languages and alternate formats
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