In December 2015 the Attorney-General asked the Commission to provide recommendations to government on the modernisation of the Adoption Act 1984 and the Adoption Regulations 2008.
Matters under review include:
- Ensuring children’s best interests and rights are the main considerations
- 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 was tabled in Parliament on 7 June 2017 and can be downloaded from the link below, under Project Publications.
