Review of the Adoption Act 1984: Consultation Paper

Posted on November 18, 2022

Appendix A: Key differences: Adoption Orders, Permanent Care Orders and Parenting Orders

	Adoption Order Adoption Act 1984 (Vic)	Permanent Care Order Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic)	Parenting Order Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)
Who can apply?
Secretary of DHHS	No	Yes—Secretary makes all applications on behalf of person(s) approved as suitable to have parental responsibility for child	No
Married couple1	Yes	Yes—through Secretary	Yes
Couple in domestic/ de facto relationship2	Yes	Yes—through Secretary	Yes
Partner3 of parent/adoptive parent	Yes	Yes—through Secretary	Yes
Single person	Yes—but only if special circumstances exist in relation to the child	Yes—through Secretary	Yes
Child’s relatives	Yes	Yes—through Secretary	Yes
The child	No	No	Yes
Other	No	Yes—through Secretary	Yes
Is parents’ consent required?	Yes	No	N/A
Court with jurisdiction	The County Court of Victoria4	The Children’s Court of Victoria	The Family Court or the Federal Circuit Court of Australia
Effect of order: Parental responsibility	Adoptive parent(s) become child’s parents—assume all parental rights and responsibilities	Parental responsibility5 conferred on permanent carer, generally to exclusion of all other people	Parental responsibility6 conferred or allocated. Parental responsibility of other parties not diminished unless stated in the order
Legal parentage	Transferred from birth parents to adoptive parents	Unaffected—birth parents remain legal parents	Unaffected—birth parents remain legal parents
Is change of name part of process?	Surname—generally yes Given names—on application	No	No
Birth certificate	New birth certificate created showing the adoptive parent(s) as the child’s parent(s)	No change to birth certificate	No change to birth certificate
Effect on inheritance	Inheritance rights transferred. Child inherits from adoptive parents, not birth parents	Inheritance rights unaffected	Inheritance rights unaffected
Duration of order	Permanent unless discharged	Until child turns 18 or marries	Until child turns 18, marries, enters into a de facto relationship or upon adoption of the child
Conditions on order	May include conditions regarding contact with birth parents and relatives and/or information sharing with birth parents	Mandatory conditions regarding preserving child’s identity, cultural connection and relationships with ‘birth family’, unless the court provides otherwise May include conditions regarding contact with parents, siblings and others of significance, and/or a cultural plan	May include conditions covering variety of parenting arrangements, including contact, communication, residence and decision making
Can the conditions be varied?	Yes—in very limited circumstances	Yes—in limited circumstances	Yes
Contact with birth parents, relatives and others	By court order or agreement	By court order or agreement	By court order or agreement
Provisions for Aboriginal children?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ongoing financial/professional support from government	Limited	Yes	No
Possibility of challenge by birth parent, relative or other	Yes—only where fraud, duress, improper means or other special circumstances	Yes—in limited circumstances	Yes