When Harry Speath handed his two young children over to his ex-wife in December, he had no idea they would soon disappear.
Thomas, 4, and his five-year-old sister, Serena, have not been seen since their mother Jane Adare picked them up from his Brisbane home at 5pm that day.
Under a family court agreement, the parents were due to move to a week-about schedule the following Friday.
But Mr Speath's pre-arranged phone calls went unanswered and nobody answered the door at Ms Adare's house.
"It really is quite dreadful because I want to be actively involved in raising these children," he told AAP.
"I wanted to do that together with Jane."
A recovery order has now been issued by the Federal Circuit Court of Australia for police to step in.
The court has also reluctantly agreed to publish their details in the hope that somebody may recognise them and report it, Mr Speath said.
"My concerns cover education, health and wellbeing," he said.
"Not having seen them for so long, you don't know what's happened to them and you want to make sure they're healthy and safe."
Neither Thomas nor Serena have attended school this year, the Queensland Education Department has told Mr Speath.
The court believes there is the possibility Ms Adare, who holds a dual passport, may have fled to the UK before Mr Speath raised the alarm.
But he believes it's more likely she remains in south-east Queensland near relatives.
"I would encourage her to do the right thing as far as the children are concerned," he said.
"If things were a bit different, none of this would have had to happen this way."
Mr Speath said he had raised his adult son from his first marriage as a sole parent from the age of seven.
"They (Thomas and Serena) had good times with me, I think I look after them well," he said.
"I think it would be better for them to have a well-rounded situation. That's what I'd be hoping for."
Thomas has short blond hair, blue eyes and is of medium build and is approximately 117cm tall.
Serena has short blonde hair, blues eyes and is approximately 115cm tall and of slight build.
Their mother, Jane Iluci Adare, 46, has light brown hair with some grey but it may have since been dyed blonde.
She has hazel eyes and a fair complexion and is approximately 165cm and weighs about 52kg.
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