Intercountry adoption
Australia is a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption. Australia ratified the Convention on 25 August 1998 and it entered into force for Australia on 1 December 1998. The main objective of the Convention is to establish international procedures, standards and co-operative mechanisms between government authorities involved in safeguarding the interests of children subject to intercountry adoption.
The Attorney-General’s Department, as the Australian Central Authority under the Convention, is responsible for ensuring that Australia, as a whole, meets its obligations under the Convention. A primary recommendation of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Human Services’ report, Overseas Adoption in Australia, was for the Attorney-General’s Department to take on primary responsibility for the establishment and management of Australia’s intercountry adoption programs.
The Attorney-General’s Department has now taken on primary responsibility for all of Australia’s intercountry adoption programs. The Department works closely with the State and Territory Central Authorities in managing these programs.
For information on a number of the Department’s current activities, see What’s new.
The Department is not involved in the processing of individual adoption applications or in the case-by-case application of assessment procedures used to determine suitable families for overseas children. These practical aspects of adoption are the responsibility of the State and Territory Central Authorities. For more information on the intercountry adoption process, contact the following authorities:
ACT | NSW | QLD | SA | TAS | VIC | WA | NT | DIAC