Melbourne mum in legal battle to stop foster parents moving overseas with her baby girl

A VICTORIAN mother is in a desperate legal battle to stop a foster family from moving overseas with her 18-month old baby girl.

The Melbourne mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was deeply distressed by the bid to remove her daughter from the country. Picture: File image

A STRUGGLING young woman is in a desperate legal battle to stop her baby daughter’s foster parents taking the girl overseas to live.

The couple, aged in their late 50s, who have been caring for the 18-month-old girl for less than a year, have applied to the Children’s Court for ­permanent custody.

One of the pair, who it is believed is not a permanent resident, was offered a lucrative job overseas earlier this year. The other, also thought to be in the country on a visa, recently stepped down from a local association’s board preparatory to moving overseas.

Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos.

The Melbourne mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was deeply distressed by the bid to remove her daughter from the country.

“Once she is out of the country, she is gone. She is not coming back. I want to be a mother to her. I have not been given that chance,’’ she told the Herald Sun.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the foster parents.

Family law lawyers said the case was extraordinary, and could set a dangerous precedent allowing overseas couples to skirt strict adoption rules.

A March 31 application flagged the couple’s intention to move and get passport applications under way.

A plan for the foster parents to return to Australia four times a year so the girl could visit family has been proposed to the Department of Health and Human Services. But once the child has left the country, the department would have no power to enforce this.

Nathan Motton, speaking for Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos, said no comment could be made because the case was before the courts.

Department of Health and Human Services spokesman David Stockman also said it was a matter for the courts.

“A decision to place a child on permanent care orders is made by the Children’s Court.

“Child-protection practitioners, along with other professionals, provide advice to the Children’s Court to inform the court’s decision-making about issues, including permanency,’’ Mr Stockman said.

The Herald Sun was not able to contact the foster parents for comment.