CHILD WELFARE SERIES Number 52 Adoptions Australia 2010–11 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Canberra Cat. no. CWS 40 The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare is a major national agency which provides reliable, regular and relevant information and statistics on Australia’s health and welfare. The Institute’s mission is authoritative information and statistics to promote better health and wellbeing. © Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2011 This product, excluding the AIHW logo, Commonwealth Coat of Arms and any material owned by a third party or protected by a trademark, has been released under a Creative Commons BY 3.0 (CC-BY 3.0) licence. Excluded material owned by third parties may include, for example, design and layout, images obtained under licence from third parties and signatures. We have made all reasonable efforts to identify and label material owned by third parties. You may distribute, remix and build upon this work. However, you must attribute the AIHW as the copyright holder of the work in compliance with our attribution policy available at <www.aihw.gov.au/copyright/>. The full terms and conditions of this licence are available at <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/>. Enquiries relating to copyright should be addressed to the Head of the Communications, Media and Marketing Unit, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, GPO Box 570, Canberra ACT 2601. This publication is part of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Child welfare series. A complete list of the Institute’s publications is available from the Institute’s website <www.aihw.gov.au>. ISSN 1320-081X ISBN 978-1-74249-268-1 Suggested citation Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2011. Adoptions Australia 2010–11. Child welfare series no. 52. Cat. no. CWS 40. Canberra: AIHW. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Board Chair Dr Andrew Refshauge Director David Kalisch Any enquiries about or comments on this publication should be directed to: Communications, Media and Marketing Unit Australian Institute of Health and Welfare GPO Box 570 Canberra ACT 2601 Tel: (02) 6244 1032 Email: [email protected] Published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Please note that there is the potential for minor revisions of data in this report. Please check the online version at <www.aihw.gov.au> for any amendments. Contents Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................................. iv Abbreviations ....................................................................................................................................... v Summary .............................................................................................................................................. vi 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Report structure ...................................................................................................................... 1 2 Adoptions in Australia ................................................................................................................. 2 2.1 Categories of adoption ........................................................................................................... 2 2.2 Adoption legislation and processes ...................................................................................... 3 2.3 Special needs children ............................................................................................................ 9 2.4 Post adoption adjustment and support .............................................................................. 11 3 Detailed analysis of adoptions in Australia in 2010–11 ...................................................... 14 3.1 Adoptions in 2010–11 ........................................................................................................... 14 3.2 Intercountry adoptions ......................................................................................................... 17 3.3 Local adoptions ..................................................................................................................... 22 3.4 ‘Known’ child adoptions ...................................................................................................... 27 3.5 Access to information ........................................................................................................... 29 4 Trends in adoptions in Australia ............................................................................................. 34 4.1 Trends in categories of adoptions ....................................................................................... 36 4.2 Adoption of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children .......................................... 41 4.3 Permanent care orders (Victoria only) ............................................................................... 42 5 International comparisons ......................................................................................................... 43 Appendix A Statistical tables ...................................................................................................... 45 Appendix B Legislation ................................................................................................................ 62 B.1 Summary of legislation ........................................................................................................ 62 B.2 Provisions for ‘open’ adoptions .......................................................................................... 70 B.3 Access to information and veto systems ............................................................................ 72 Appendix C Countries party to the Hague Convention ........................................................ 78 Glossary ................................................................................................................................................ 80 References ............................................................................................................................................ 85 List of tables ........................................................................................................................................ 89 List of figures ...................................................................................................................................... 91 Related publications .......................................................................................................................... 92 iii Acknowledgments Many people have contributed to this and previous issues of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Adoptions Australia series. Thanks to AIHW staff Rachel Aalders, Jenna Pickles, Kristy Raithel, Tim Beard and Brent Diverty for their support in producing this report. This edition was prepared by Sam Chambers. Thanks are also extended to the following state and territory departments for the provision of data for this report and for valuable advice on its content, and to the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department for comments on previous drafts. New South Wales South Australia Adoption and Permanent Care Services Intercountry Services Community Services Department for Families and Communities NSW Department of Family and GPO Box 292 Community Services Adelaide SA 5001 Locked Bag 4028 Phone: (08) 8207 0060 Ashfield NSW 2131 Phone: (02) 9716 3000 Victoria Tasmania Child Protection, Placement and Family Adoptions and Permanency Services Services Department of Health and Human Services Department of Human Services GPO Box 538 GPO Box 4057 Hobart Tas 7001 Melbourne Vic 3001 Phone: (03) 6233 2273 Phone: (03) 9096 7366 Queensland Australian Capital Territory Adoption Services Queensland Office for Children, Youth and Family Support Department of Communities GPO Box 158 GPO Box 806 Canberra City ACT 2601 Brisbane Qld 4001 Phone: (02) 6207 1335 Phone: (07) 3224 7415 Western Australia Northern Territory Family Information and Adoption Services Northern Territory Adoption Unit Department for Child Protection Department of Children and Families PO Box 641 PO Box 40596 Belmont WA 6984 Casuarina NT 0811 Phone: 1800 182 178 Phone: (08) 8922 7077 Australian Central Authority Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department Marriage and Intercountry Adoption Branch 3–5 National Circuit Barton ACT 2600 Phone: (02) 6141 3217 This publication was produced with financial assistance from the community services departments in each state and territory. iv Abbreviations AIHW Australian Institute of Health and Welfare ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics ACA Australian Central Authority AGD Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department DOC Queensland Department of Communities DFC South Australian Department for Families and Communities DHS Victorian Department of Human Services DHHS Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services DIAC Department of Immigration and Citizenship FAO Australian Government Family Assistance Office NCCC Nationally Consistent Core Curriculum OCYFS ACT Office for Children, Youth and Family Support Symbols — nil or rounded to zero . not applicable n.a. not available n.p. not publishable because of small numbers, confidentiality or other concerns about the quality of the data v Summary In Australia, adoption is one of a range of options