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Adoption

• About adoption
  • Adopting a child
  • Differences between biological and adoptive parenting
  • Adoption programs
  • Adoptive parent education
• For birth parents
  • Consent to adoption
  • Finalising adoption
  • After your child is adopted
• Adopting a child from Queensland
  • General Children's Adoption Program
  • Frequently asked questions about Queensland adoption
• Adopting a step-child or relative
  • Relative and Step-Parent Adoption Program
  • Issues to consider
  • Alternatives to adoption
  • Consent requirements
  • Leave of the Family Court
• Adopting a child with special needs
  • Special Needs Children's Adoption Program
• Adopting a child born overseas
  • Intercountry Adoption Program
  • Overseas country information
  • Frequently asked questions about overseas adoption
  • Intercountry adoptive parent education
• After adoption
  • Release of information
  • Mailbox Program
• Library
• Contacts
  • Community organisations
  • Other government contacts
  • Raising concerns or complaints

Consent requirements

Where a step-parent is considering applying to adopt a step-child, consent needs to be obtained from:

• the birth mother (always required)
• the child to be adopted (required if over the age of 12 years)
• the non-custodial birth parent (usually the birth father), only if the child's birth parents were married at the time of conception or had since been married to each other. However the birth father's views will be sought, recorded and considered during assessment.

Birth parents' consent

The consents of both a child's birth parents are required if the child’s parents were married to each other at the time of the child’s conception or have since married each other.

In the event of a child's birth father not being able to be located after all reasonable attempts have been made to locate him, it is the applicant's responsibility (for example, a child's step-parent) to apply to the Children's Court or the Supreme Court of Queensland for a dispensation of the birth father's consent.

A step-parent's adoption application cannot be assessed until all necessary consents or dispensation of consent (by a court) have been obtained. An application for dispensation of consent is a legal matter and appropriate legal advice will need to be sought by the step-parent applicant.

The Adoption of Children Act 1964 sets out the circumstances for which dispensation of consent may be granted if the court is satisfied that it is in the interests of a child that a dispensation order be made.

If a child's birth father is deceased, it will be necessary for the views of the paternal relatives to be sought. Further consideration will then be given on an individual case basis.

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Departmental consent

All consents to a proposed adoption must be given on the prescribed form, which must be completed and signed by the person giving consent, and witnessed by an authorised delegate of the Chief Executive (Director-General) of our department. Consents not given in this manner are invalid.

A person providing consent must be counselled by an authorised delegate of our Chief Executive to ensure that the person is giving an informed consent. This means that the witnessing officer must be satisfied that the person giving consent is aware of what adoption means and what the impact of signing an adoption consent will be for them and their family.

Any consent which does not meet these requirements will not be valid.

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Further information

For information about adopting a relative or step-child in Queensland, contact our Adoption Services Queensland Unit.

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Last updated

23 September 2008