History of Intercountry Adoption in Australia
Intercountry adoption in Australia first began during the Vietnam War when 292 Vietnamese orphans were transported to Australia in 'Operation Babylift'. Since then, intercountry adoption has become more widely practiced. The number of prospective adoptive parents has been increasing since the 1970s as the number of local adoptions has substantially decreased. For the latest figures on adoption in Australia see our Statistics page.
An important milestone for intercountry adoption in Australia came in 1998 when Australia ratified the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. To enable ratification, the Commonwealth, States and Territories negotiated the 1998 Commonwealth-State Agreement for the Implementation of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. This Agreement has now been renegotiated.
More recently, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Human Services conducted an inquiry into the adoption of children from overseas. The report, Overseas Adoption in Australia, contained 27 recommendations designed to improve the system of intercountry adoption in Australia. A key recommendation of this report was that the Australian Government assume primary responsibility for the establishment and management of Australia's intercountry adoption programs.