Arrival in Australia
- Guardianship
- Interim orders
- What are the responsibilities of parents while children are placed on interim orders?
- Custody issues
- Guardianship issues
- Identifying adopted children
- Post-placement reports
- Placement disruption
- Adoption Order
- Making an Adoption Order
Guardianship
In accordance with the Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946, most children holding an adoption visa entering Australia are under the guardianship of the Minister for the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship. However, the powers and functions of this guardianship are delegated to the relevant state or territory adoption authority.
In Queensland, the guardianship of children holding an adoption visa to reside in Queensland is delegated to the Director-General of the Department of Child Safety.
Interim orders
Adoption authorities in most overseas countries require the Department of Child Safety to make an interim order for the placement of the child in Queensland. Our Director-General is the child's guardian during this time. Interim orders are usually in place for 12 months. However, they may be extended for up to two years. During this time, limited supervision is provided by the our department.
Prospective adoptive parents are required to complete a 'Final Particulars' form and return it to Adoption Services Queensland upon return to Queensland with their child. The Final Particulars form provides details of the parents' names and the name by which the child is to be known during the interim order period. The information provided is entered on the child's birth certificate if a final Adoption Order is made in favour of the prospective adoptive parents.
Under the provisions of the Hague Convention, Adoption Orders finalised by the overseas adoption authority can be recognised in Queensland. Although an Adoption Order may be finalised overseas, our Director-General is still required to exercise limited supervision of the child entering Australia for an interim period.
While the interim order and the period of supervision are in place, our Director-General retains guardianship of the child. The prospective adoptive parents are responsible for legal custody and the child's day-to-day care.
What are the responsibilities of parents while children are placed on interim orders?
- Maintaining eligibility as prescribed under the legislation (medical checks, references and criminal history checks need to be updated every two years).
- Meeting the requirements of the overseas adoption authority and the department by participating in post-placement supervision.
- Informing the Director-General of the Department of Child Safety of guardianship matters regarding the child. These requests should be placed in writing to the department in a reasonable time frame for consideration.
Custody issues
Decisions about the child's day-to-day care can be made by persons who have custody of the child. The department typically transfers custody of the child to the adoptive parents who have been selected for the placement. Matters of custody include:
- making decisions regarding the child's daily routine
- opening bank accounts for the child
- signing school excursion permission forms
- signing school reports
- approving curriculum activities, such as swimming, arts council and religious education
- accessing financial benefits related to the daily care of the child
- making decisions about low risk sporting and recreational activities
- placing the child in the care of another suitable person for up to two consecutive nights
- obtaining medical or dental treatment not requiring a general anaesthetic, blood transfusion or surgery
- seeking treatment involving local anaesthetics
- seeking a second medical opinion. However, only the guardian can decide to act on a second medical opinion.
Guardianship issues
As our Director-General retains guardianship of children under interim orders, we make all decisions regarding the child's long-term care, welfare and development. Prospective adoptive parents must discuss with Adoption Services Queensland matters that pertain to the guardianship of a child.
These matters include:
- requests for the child to travel interstate (excluding day trips) or overseas
- medical or dental treatment involving general anaesthetic, blood transfusion or surgery. In emergency situations where appropriate consents cannot be obtained prior to treatment, or the time taken to obtain appropriate consent would jeopardise the child's health, common law prevails and doctors have the authority to proceed with treatment for the child
- moving residence
- the child undertaking any sports or recreational interests involving dangerous activities
- placing the child in the care of another suitable person for three consecutive nights or more
- enrolling the child in a new or different school
- attending school camps
- immunisation
- blood tests
- acting on any medical opinion, depending on the type of illness or condition and proposed treatment
- requiring prescription medication to manage behaviour or mental health conditions, for example, dexamphetamines and anti-depressants.
If you need assistance after hours, you can contact our Child Safety After Hours Service Centre on 07 3235 9999 or toll free 1800 177 135.
Identifying adopted children
The Adoption of Children Act 1964 states that identification of the parties involved in the adoption process, including the names of the adoptive parent, the child, the birth parents or guardian of the child, or any matter that may identify any of these parties is restricted while an interim order is in place.
This means that publishing of adoption information in newspapers, periodicals, broadcasting or televising is not permitted.
Post-placement reports
After a child is placed with prospective adoptive parents in Queensland, our department is required to provide regular reports about the child's progress and photographs of the child to the overseas adoption authority during the interim order period.
An assessor will visit families after the placement of a child to offer support, oversee the child's placement and prepare post-placement reports. Post-placement reports are usually written at one month, four months, seven months and ten months after placement.
Information obtained during post-placement visits is considered when determining whether it would be in the child's best interests for an Adoption Order to be made in favour of the adoptive parents with whom the child has been placed.
Post-placement reports include details about the child's progress, adjustment and photographs, which are sent to the overseas adoption authority. Adoption authorities in some countries require parents to continue providing post-placement reports and photographs until the child reaches 18 years of age.
Adoptive parents should carefully consider this commitment. It is inappropriate for a child to be matched with a prospective adoptive couple if they do not have a long-term commitment to provide post-placement information about the child.
The failure of adoptive parents to provide post-placement reports and photographs to an overseas adoption authority may jeopardise the operation of the intercountry adoption program between the Department of Child Safety and the relevant overseas authority, and may prevent other couples from adopting in the future.
Adoptive parents are encouraged to contact Adoption Services Queensland if they require information or support at any time after the placement of a child. We can provide information to assist adoptive parents, and help adoptive parents establish networks with appropriate community support services.
Placement disruption
Our department takes every care to ensure that a prospective adoptive parent's capacity to care for an adopted child is thoroughly investigated during the assessment process and that appropriate placement decisions are made prior to the allocation of a child to a particular couple.
We have an obligation to ensure that a child's physical, emotional and long-term developmental needs can be adequately provided for in an adoptive placement. We will review a child's placement with adoptive parents if the child's placement does not progress satisfactorily or if there is an unforeseen change in circumstances that affects the parent's ongoing capacity to provide for a child's physical, emotional and long-term developmental needs.
There may be occasions when a child's placement with adoptive parents breaks down during the interim period and the child cannot remain in their adoptive parent's care. This may result from adoptive parents requesting for the child to be placed elsewhere or from a decision made by our department that it is not in the child's best interests to remain in their placement.
Adoptive parents are encouraged to contact Adoption Services Queensland to discuss any difficulties that may occur after a child has been placed with them. Adoption Services Queensland may arrange for an assessor to provide support to assist the family to work through the difficulties in the placement, or may facilitate a referral to an appropriate welfare, health or psychiatric service.
Should a disruption in the placement occur, the management of the child's placement will differ depending on the specific factors contributing to the disruption. We will consider these factors when making appropriate plans for the child's future. We have an obligation to liaise with the overseas adoption authority when the disruption of a child's placement occurs before the Adoption Order has been finalised.
Adoption Order
The Adoption Order of a child from a country that has endorsed the Hague Convention may be finalised in the child's country of origin. If the Adoption Order is finalised in the child's country of origin, it will be recognised in Australia.
The Department of Child Safety is still responsible for supervising the child's placement during the interim period, even though the Adoption Order is finalised. In this instance, there are no additional procedures required for the Adoption Order to be recognised in Australia.
The Adoption Order of a child from a country that has not endorsed the Hague Convention will be finalised in Queensland, if the child's placement with their adoptive parents has proceeded successfully.
Under the provisions of the Adoption of Children Act 1964, the Director-General of the Department of Child Safety has the authority to approve the making of Adoption Orders in Queensland. Adoption Services Queensland will recommended that our Director-General make an Adoption Order in favour of adoptive parents if the child's placement has progressed successfully during the interim period.
Following the making of an Adoption Order, our Director-General will authorise the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages to issue an amended birth certificate for the child that names the child's adoptive parents as their legal guardians. The child's adoptive parents can purchase the child's Queensland birth certificate from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in Brisbane.
Making an Adoption Order
Section 28 of the Adoption of Children Act 1964 prescribes that upon the making of an Adoption Order:
- the adoptive parents become the legal guardians of their adopted child
- the adopted child ceases to be a child of any person who was a parent of the child prior to the making of the Adoption Order.
Adoption permanently transfers the legal rights and responsibilities of parenthood from a child's birth parents to their adoptive parents.
- Last updated
- 19 October 2007