Parents who run away with their children will face up to three years in prison, and Australian police will have a new authority to pursue them overseas.
So far, parents have spent more time overseas with their children than they did with their ex-partners, which is not a crime.
But now that parents have been convicted of abducting children abroad, the Australian Federal Police will work with Interpol to track the parents and children.
If the charges were established, the Australian police could seek extradition, which had not been possible before.
Under a new law that comes into effect early next year, the Australian Federal Police will have authority check emails and text messages from parents suspected of transnational abductions.
But parents who fled their homes with their children to avoid domestic violence can defend any charges.
"the abduction of a child by parents is a trauma to the child itself and to the parents who have lost contact with the child," Justice minister Christian Porter said.
"criminalizing the illegal detention of children abroad can provide a strong deterrent to such acts and provide a tool for further tracing and prosecuting offenders by law enforcement agencies."
In fiscal year last year, a total of 80 Australian parents asked for the repatriation of 143 children who were allegedly illegally detained overseas.
Of the 143 children, more than 36 percent were taken to New Zealand and 17.5 percent to Britain or the United States.
During the same period, 47 overseas parents requested the repatriation of 162 children allegedly illegally detained in Australia.
There have been some high-profile cases of child trafficking in Australia.
These included Hannah and Cedar Engdahl, whose mother, Melissa, took them back from their father, who took them to Lebanon. The accident occurred in 2007.
Recently, Sally Faulkner also tried to get her children back from Lebanon, despite the failure that led to the temporary imprisonment of a Channel 9 staff member and journalist Tara Brown.
Nahum Mushin, a former family court judge, said the illegal detention of children abroad was "ultimate theft" and required criminal penalties.
"unilateral removal of children is a very serious act, so it is reasonable to criminalize them," Mushin said.
However, Mushin doubts whether parents will be intimidated by a three-year sentence.
"when I was in the courtroom, I tried a lot of these cases, and when deterrence came up, they said they didn`t care," he said.
He also warned not to lock up "primary parents" who take care of their children for the sole purpose of punishment, which could have unintended consequences for the child`s mental health.
But Mushin said the right to extradition was a major victory for Australian parents. Otherwise, parents whose children were illegally taken would be at a disadvantage on foreign court.
