the process of adoption
You officially make an adoption decision for your child when you sign a Consent form. Both the birth mother and birth father must consent to their child’s adoption.
who’s involved in the decision
Both parents of a child have legal rights and in most situations, both parents should be involved in the plan to adopt.
Sometimes, because of the nature of their relationship or their current circumstances, a mother may not wish to involve the child's father in her adoption decision.
When a father is aware of the adoption plan, he is encouraged to be actively involved, assisting with legal and social/medical documentation and the choice of adoptive parents. He may see the adoption worker with the mother, or may request separate interviews to explore his individual thoughts about the proposed adoption.
When the child to be adopted is over the age of 12 years, the child's consent is required.
after signing consent
When you sign an adoption consent, the Director-General of the Department of Community Services becomes your child's legal guardian.
After consenting, you have 30 days to reconsider your decision. This is called a "revocation period" and is a time when you test out whether you can accept being permanently separated from your child.
Your child is normally cared for by temporary foster parents during the 30 day revocation period. Your adoption worker can arrange for you to see your child during this period.
If you don't revoke your consent and if your child is well, your child will be placed with adopting parents very soon after the revocation period has expired.
if you want to revoke consent
To revoke your consent you must write to the Deputy Registrar:
Supreme Court
Corner King and Macquarie Streets
Sydney NSW 2000
your child’s name after adoption
If your child is newly born, you must register your baby's birth and name your baby. This will be the baby's legal name until the adoption order.
Adoptive parents may have chosen a name they wish to give their adopted child or may keep the name you choose, or include it as part of the name.
The Adoption Act 2000 says that the given name of a child over one year old should not be changed.
A child who is over 12 years of age can choose their own names. Some choose to include their birth family's surname.
information about you and other family members
The adoption worker will ask you for personal information about yourself, your family and your family's health.
Adopted people have a great need to know about their birth family – who they are, what they are like, family medical history and the reasons for their adoption. With your permission the information you provide will be recorded in a "Life Story " which is written for your child. You may participate in preparing this information. See more on life story work.
Adopting parents are trained to help children understand and learn about their adoption. They're encouraged to tell the child from an early age that they're adopted, and as much as possible about the birth parents, so that the child has positive feelings about their birth family.
Find out more about the information and contact you can have with your child.
your child’s adoptive family
People who want to adopt a child are thoroughly assessed by a DoCS-approved contracted adoption assessor and receive training and education on adoption. Before they are approved as adopting parents, the adoption agency must be satisfied they have the ability to meet the particular needs of an adopted child.
The adoption worker will discuss with you the kind of family you would like your child to grow up in. You might have some strong feelings about religion, cultural background, or lifestyle of the adoptive parents.
You may ask to meet your child's adoptive parents, and this can be arranged.
You may prefer to just be told a bit about the adopting parents and get ongoing news of your child's progress after placement, at regular intervals.
your involvement in selection of adoptive parents
It's important that the family chosen to adopt your child is able to provide for their individual needs.
You need to talk to the adoption worker about your child’s needs, the kind of family you want for your child, and about your own family. This will help the worker identify the most suitable adoptive parents.
You can be part of the selection of the adoptive parents by looking at non-identifying "profiles" prepared by adoptive parents for the adoption agency. Parents are increasingly involved in planning for their child in this way.
See the Adoption Act 2000 for more details.
