International Child Abduction Respondents Scheme
The International Child Abduction Respondents Scheme (ICARS) funds the reasonable costs of legal representation for eligible parents. You may be eligible if you are responding to proceedings brought under the Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations 1986 in an Australian court. These proceedings would seek the return of a child under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
For more information, refer to our International Child Abduction Respondents Scheme fact sheet.
You can apply for legal financial assistance to cover the reasonable costs of a legal practitioner to:
- act as your legal representative
- attend mediation with you
- provide you with legal advice.
We may also cover the reasonable costs of disbursements that your legal representative incurs while acting for you or providing legal advice in proceedings under the Regulations. This may include costs for:
- obtaining reports or expert opinions
- documents
- translations
- court fees.
We will not usually cover costs incurred before you apply.
Eligibility
You may be eligible for ICARS if you are:
- responding or proposing to respond to an application filed in an Australian court under the Regulations seeking a return order for a child or children
- appealing or proposing to appeal a return order made by an Australian court under the Regulations
- responding to or proposing to respond to an appeal against a non-return decision made by an Australian court under the Regulations.
You can apply under ICARS for proceedings filed under the Regulations on or after 1 January 2024.
How to apply
- Download and complete the ICARS Application Form.
- Download and complete the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check form.
- Email the completed forms and required documents to finass@ag.gov.au.
Do not submit the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check Form to any other organisation. We will submit it on your behalf as part of your application assessment.
How we assess your application
Your application will be assessed under the:
- International Child Abduction Respondents Scheme Guidelines
- Commonwealth Legal Financial Assistance – Assessment of Costs which sets the amounts that will be paid should your application be approved.
When we assess your application, we consider:
- your income, assets, liabilities and expenses (including whether you are able to sell assets or secure a loan against them)
- whether your legal representative has received or may receive any payment or legal assistance from a third party
- the estimated cost of the legal proceedings
- whether the costs of the legal action will cause you financial hardship.
In most cases, we consider that you are unable to meet the cost of the legal action if you receive Centrelink benefits as your main source of income.
We may also consider situations where you are temporarily unable to access your finances due to circumstances outside your control. For example, domestic violence, incarceration or where your assets have been restrained but may be returned to you at a later time.
Assessment timeframe
If your application is complete, we will assess it within 28 days. If it is incomplete, we will notify you and ask for the missing information. We will not assess incomplete applications.
Find out more
To contact the Legal Financial Assistance Casework team, email finass@ag.gov.au.
If you need an alternative way to contact us, you can leave a message for the team with our department’s switchboard at 02 6141 6666 (or +61 2 6141 6666 for overseas callers).
If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, contact the department through the National Relay Service and give 02 6141 6666 as the number you would like to call.