Review of the Adoption Act 1984: Report

This VLRC report is about adoption law reform, in particular:

• Eligibility to adopt and the application process
• Access to adoption information
• Birth certificates of adopted people.

The report does not cover adoption laws and practices that existed before the Adoption Act 1984; and it does not review the law regarding inter-country adoption programs.

The review was completed in February 2017 and tabled in Parliament on 7 June 2017. The Commission made 88 recommendations to modernise the Adoption Act and ensure that the best interests of the child are the paramount consideration. The main recommendation was that Victoria needs a new Adoption Act.

• Preface
• Terms of reference
• Glossary
• Executive summary
• Recommendations
• 1. Introduction
• 2. A new Adoption Act: principles and modernisation
• 3. Participation of the child in adoption decision making
• 4. Contact and adoption plans
• 5. Best interests of the child
• 6. Birth certificates of adopted people
• 7. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and adoption
• 8. Consent
• 9. Discrimination and equal opportunity
  in adoption
• 10. Eligibility to adopt
• 11. Assessment of applicants for adoption
• 12. Selection of adoptive parents
• 13. Adoption services and the Equal
  Opportunity Act
• 14. The role of the court in the adoption process
• 15. Adoption support
• 16. Access to adoption information
• 17. Conclusion
• Appendix A: Submissions
• Appendix B: Consultations
• Appendix C: NSW Government Guide to Drafting an Adoption Plan
• Appendix D: Adoption Act 1994 (WA) Schedule 2—Rights and responsibilities to be balanced in adoption plans
• Bibliography