An Australian dad paid $350,000 in child support after being confronted by authorities while trying to board a flight overseas.

He was not permitted to leave the country until he paid his dues, the Daily Telegraph reports .

The sum was paid last year, and is the single largest amount paid by an absconding parent as part of a joint operation aimed at holding Australians on Departure Prohibition Orders (DPO) to account.

An Australian dad paid $350,000 in child support after being confronted by authorities while trying to board a flight overseas. (Getty)

The operation, which is run by the Department of Immigration in cooperation with the Child Support Agency, is on track to exceed the $10 million in unpaid debts recovered in the 2016/2017 financial year, the newspaper reports.

Those debts were collected from about 1800 Australians facing travel bans due to money owed.

Another traveller – in this case a mining magnate – was reportedly forced to shell out $22,000 in overdue child support fees before departing Sydney in 2017.

Another traveller – in this case a mining magnate – was reportedly forced to shell out $22,000 in overdue child support fees before departing Sydney in 2017. (Getty)

A third was caught trying to depart Sydney with $40,000 in similar debts but only paid $30,000 at the time, according to the Telegraph .

Authorities have warned anyone with an unpaid debt could face similar travel bans.