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Adult Adoption Law in Australia
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Below are brief extracts from state legislation,
plus links to the state website where the legislation can be read
in full.
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| NOTE:
This document
details State adoption law in Australia as of February 2012. All
Australian states current discriminate on the basis of adoptee age,
prohibiting adult adoption other than in very restrictive circumstances
that makes it virtually impossible to adopting-back a child that
the parent lost to adoption. This website fully supports Australian
citizens who are impacted by this discriminatory restriction, and
who wish to lobby to get laws changed to permit adult adoption such
as how it is permitted in several Canadian
provinces and many American states.
See also "Adoption
in Australia" (Wikipedia) for more information.
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Part 3 Adoptions under this Act, Division 3.1 Who can be adopted?
10 Adoption of person 18 years old or older
An adoption order may be made for a person who was 18 years old or
older on the day the application was filed in the court if the person-
(a) has been reared, maintained and educated by the applicant or
applicants under a de facto adoption; and
(b) is present in the ACT.
Chapter 4 The adoption process, Part 1 General,
24 Who can be adopted? (cf AC Act s 18 (1))
(1) An adoption order may be made in relation to a child who:
(a) was less than 18 years of age on the date on which the application
for the order was made, or
(b) was 18 or more years of age on that date and was cared for by
the applicant or applicants for the order.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) (b), a child was cared for
if the child:
(a) has been cared for by the applicant or applicants, or by the
applicant and a deceased spouse of the applicant, as his or her or
their child prior to reaching the age of 18 years, or
(b) has, as a ward within the meaning of the Children (Care and Protection)
Act 1987 or a person under the parental responsibility of the Minister
administering the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection)
Act 1998, been in the care responsibility of the applicant or applicants
or of the applicant and a deceased spouse of the applicant.
PART 3--ADOPTIONS UNDER THIS ACT, Division 1--General,
12 Who may be adopted
(1) Subject to this Act, the Court may, on application, make an
order for the adoption of a child who:
(a) had not attained the age of 18 years before the date on which
the application was filed in the Court; or
(b) has been brought up, maintained and educated by the applicant
or applicants, or by the applicant and a deceased or estranged spouse
of the applicant, as his, her or their child.
ADOPTION
ACT 2009 No. 29 - SECT 10, Division 3--Adoptions under this
Act,
10 Who may be adopted
(3) An adult may not be adopted.
This legislation does not make provision for the adoption of adults.
However, it does not expressly forbid adult adoption either. Hence,
it is possible that adults may be adopted under a separate petition
to the court.
Division 2 - General,
19. Who may be adopted
(1) On application by the Secretary or the principal officer of an
approved agency but subject to this Act, the court may make an order
for the adoption of a child who –
(a) had not attained the age of 18 years before the date on which
the application was filed in the court; or
(b) has been brought up, maintained, and educated by –
(i) the prospective adoptive parent or either of the prospective
adoptive parents; or
(ii) the prospective adoptive parent and his or her deceased spouse
as the child of that parent or, as the case may be, of that parent
and his or her spouse – but the court shall not make an order for
the adoption of a child who is, or has been, married.
Authorised Version No. 062
PART II—ADOPTIONS UNDER THIS ACT, Division 1—General
10 Who may be adopted
(1) Subject to this Act, the Court may make an order for the adoption
of a person who—
(a) had not attained the age of eighteen years before the date on
which the application was
filed in the Court; or
(b) has been brought up, maintained and educated by the applicant
or either of the applicants, or by the applicant and a deceased spouse
or de facto spouse of the applicant, as the child of the applicant
or of the applicant and deceased spouse or de facto spouse as if the
applicant were the parent of that child, or the applicant and deceased
spouse or deceased de facto spouse of the applicant were the parents
of that child.
Part 3 - The adoption process, Division 10 - Adoption orders
66. Who may be adopted
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a person may be adopted if he or she
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(a) is a child; and
(b) is not, and has not been, married or in a de facto relationship,
but not otherwise.
(2) A person who is 18 or more years of age may be adopted by a person
who was a carer or step-parent of the first-mentioned person immediately
before the first-mentioned person attained 18 years of age.
(3) A person cannot be adopted by a relative of the person, other than
a step-parent.
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