Time frames and how to apply for a Residence Orders - section 8 Children Act 1989 ?

[Mosman]

Long story short I was hoping to be on a plane to Perth right now with my 12 year old.
She was born in Australia to an Australian father, named on the BC who still lives in Australia.
The only contact we have had with him in 12 years was to fight CSA payments [rollseyes] and he bloody won.
So it now seems I cannot take her out of the country without his permission which seems ridiculous but true.
I think what I need is a residency order, but I need one fast both DH and I have resigned from our jobs, given up school places in the UK and are homeless as of the 27th June as we've rented our house out.
Do we have any chance at all of sorting this out before then ?
He is ignoring emails via linkedin, has deleted the email address I had for him and left the company he worked that I had details of, none of this will change. I cannot contact him.

A residence order won't be any good unless you are going on holiday for up to 28 days.

You will need an order for leave to remove from the jurisdiction.

Before 27 June is v v unlikely.

God really ? Even though he is in bloody Australia ?

Oh hang on. If the child was born in Australia then the father doesn't have parental responsibility unless you were married to him. So you don't need his consent. If you were married to him then, technically, yes - you do need his consent wherever he happens to be.

I assume your statement "So it now seems I cannot take her out of the country without his permission which seems ridiculous but true" derives from some immigration rule that you've been told about.

I have written to immigration over and over again telling them he doesn't have PR bit they are inisting on a court order, i get automated emails and nobody will speak to me, i'm banging my head against a brick wall tbh.

Have PM'd you.

Am confused. Are you being told you need a Court order to take your child, born in Australia, back to Australia where her dad lives?

Yep that's the size of it

how bloody ridiculous.
Hope Collaborate has been able to help you out. Bloody red tape

I must say I'd started to come to that conclusion which is why we are going to Perth and he is in Brisbane, doubt he'll be popping over for the weekend but hey he hasn't sent so much as a Birthday card in 12 years so I'm not overly worried about him tbh.
I've sent a letter appealing to his better nature and hopefully the letter explaining I have the right to remove her from the UK, which is all we want to do will be sufficient without a court order. Is this anything you've come across before BB ?
Many thanks

It still makes me laugh I was able to bring her back to the UK without any issues at all in 2000, but take her back well that's a whole different matter

Wouldn't you have had to have the father's permission to leave Australia in the first place?

That was how I understood how it worked in Oz.

Well I didn't so not sure what happened there

still why would he not agree to her being 12,000 miles (or whatever it is) closer to him?

You don't need his consent in English law to return Oz. Whether an Australian court would think otherwise is a different matter, but I can't imagine he would want to applpy to the court there for an order that you have to return to the UK.

I was under the impression it was an immigration issue though from your post at 9.17 yesterday.

It is baffling and therefore causing delay's as nobody seems sure what exactly applies here.
It would seem his opportunity to object to me leaving has been and gone 12 years ago, I didn't tell him I was going but equally once he realised I'd gone he didn't insist I came back so that's done and dusted.
Under UK law I am the only one with parental responsibility so I just need to get her into Australia at which point she can claim citizenship.
We have an emergency court hearing on Monday to grant whatever order I need, the remove from juristriction and the residency.

Just in case somebody is searching for this information and comes accross this post or even to help the baffled barristars - it cost me £250 to find out that a B9 form is available online and that's all that is required. A declaration that you have attempted to find the other parent - 10 years in jail if you haven't - but that's it.

That's an Australian form to apply for a passport without the consent of the other parent? Was it the lack of passport that prevented you taking her out of the country?

YOu cannot travel as an Australian into Australia on anything but an Australian passport, so whilst she has a British one they wouldn't grant her a visa, with or without his permission because it had to be an Australian one.
Hope that makes sense, it's very confusing nobody at the immigration helpline or embassy pointed that out at any stage despite my pointing out repeatedly that she had an aussie father.
At least I have written confirmation she has the right to an Australian passport but what a nightmare.