Fill Out Passport Office Form B8 Online

What is Form B8 used for

For passport purposes, parental responsibility is defined in the Australian Passports Act 2005, and it can extend beyond the parent named on a birth certificate. Form B8 works through the possibilities: whether the named parent was married at the time of the child's birth or in the 11 months before it, whether anyone has formally acknowledged parentage, whether court orders, proceedings or agreements exist that could affect another person's rights in relation to the child, and whether child support has ever been paid or received for the child.

If the answer to all of those questions is no, the form is simply signed and submitted with the application. If any answer is yes, the form goes on to collect details of the other person, whether they have consented, and if not, the contact attempts made and any special circumstances claimed under the Act and the Australian Passports Determination 2015.

Who completes Form B8

Usually the parent named on the child's birth certificate completes the form. Someone else lodging the child's application, such as a guardian, can complete it instead, recording their relationship to the child and providing evidence of that relationship where it exists.

The form does not apply in every one parent situation. If you are presenting an Australian court order that deals with parental responsibility or permits the child to have a travel document, you should not complete B8; the Passport Office will contact you if it turns out to be required. Children who were adopted or born through surrogacy arrangements follow the specific pathways the form sets out, which can involve court orders and additional forms.

How to fill out Form B8

Answer all required questions in full, to the best of your knowledge where you are not the parent named on the certificate.

• Complete the details of the parent named on the birth certificate, and of the person lodging the form if that is someone different.
• Provide the child's details, including who the child lives with and any proposed travel, and confirm you are providing the most recently issued birth certificate.
• Indicate whether the child was adopted or born through a surrogacy arrangement, and follow the form's directions on the extra documents those situations require.
• Answer the four parentage questions about marriage around the time of birth, acknowledgements of parentage, court orders or agreements, and child support payments.
• If any answer is yes, complete the sections about the other person who may have parental responsibility, their consent, your contact attempts and the child's relationship with them.
• Detail any court orders presented as evidence, set out any claim of special circumstances, and use a B11 General declaration form if you need more space.
• Sign the declaration and lodge the form with the child's passport application.

Processing and practical warnings

The form's guidance notes that child applications claiming special circumstances generally take six to eight weeks to process, sometimes longer, and that faster processing can only be requested once the Passport Office has confirmed a passport will be issued and there is a compassionate or compelling reason. Travel plans should not be finalised until the decision is known, and the application fee is generally not refunded if a passport is refused.

The form also flags the legal backdrop: taking a child overseas without the consent of everyone with parental responsibility may be an offence under the Family Law Act 1975 or lead to action under the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. Independent legal advice can help in contested situations.