Although adoption rates in Victoria are low compared to former times, adoption law profoundly affects each person it touches. For an adopted child, the birth mother and the adopting parents the law can have lifelong consequences.
In December 2015, the Attorney-General asked the Commission to provide recommendations for modernising the Adoption Act 1984 and the Adoption Regulations 2008. Under the terms of reference, the Commission was asked to ensure the child's best interests and rights while considering:
- Eligibility to adopt and the application process
- Access to adoption information
- Birth certificates of adopted people.
The Commission was not asked to examine adoption laws and practices that existed before the Adoption Act 1984; nor to review the law regarding intercountry adoption programs, nor to consider adoptions by same-sex couples or contact statements.
The Commission’s final report, tabled in Parliament on 7 June 2017, can be downloaded from the link below.
