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2014/04: Should Australia relax its regulations for adoption both within Australia and from overseas?





Introduction to the media issue

Video clip at right: a December, 2013 ABC news report on the announcement of reforms to Australian overseas adoption laws. If you cannot see this clip, it will be because video is blocked by your network. To view the clip, access from home or from a public library, or from another network which allows viewing of video clips.


What they said...
'Adoption is a trauma that happens to a child'
Karl Stenske, author of 'The Hidden Life of an Adopted Child: Understanding the Impact of Adoption'

'Once you leave our shores and you see how many amazing kids there are needing a home, it's hard to imagine why we don't put more resources into helping families connect'
Diane Harapin, a member of the National Adoption Awareness Week Committee

The issue at a glance
On March 4, 2014, the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Abbott, announced changes to procedures and regulations which will allow full adoptions from Taiwan, South Korea and Ethiopia to be recognised automatically in Australia. Amendments to the Family Law (Bilateral Arrangements -- Intercountry Adoption) Regulations will lift restrictions and make it easier for Australians to adopt from these countries.
In 2012/13, 40 per cent of Australia's intercountry adoptions were from Taiwan and South Korea. Currently, after a couple has completed the adoption process in the child's home country, there can sometimes be lengthy court processes at the Australian end. A 12-month wait is typical.
The Ethiopia program, through which Australian couples have adopted more than 600 children, was closed in June 2012. The change will benefit those who have not finalised their Ethiopian adoption.
The changes come after Mr Abbott teamed with adoption activist Deborra-Lee Furness and her husband Hugh Jackman to make it easier to adopt children locally and abroad within a year.
Though the federal government has yet to state a position on adoptions within Australia, adoption campaigners have also lobbied for a streamlined adoption process for the 18,000 children in Australia's care system. Campaigners argue that adoption should be made available to foster parents after a waiting period of approximately six months.
However, opponents have argued that too great a relaxation of the adoption process would not be in the interests of adopted children.