Adoption

Adoption is the process of transferring the legal rights and responsibilities from a child’s biological parent to an adoptive parent.

Private adoption is illegal in Queensland. The state government enables all adoptions through the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services. This department can assist with:

- Birth parents considering placing their child up for adoption;
- Children who require adoptive services;
- Individuals looking to adopt; and
- Individuals wanting to lodge a contact statement relating to a prior adoption.

There are currently the steps involved in adopting your step-child in Queensland:

1. Leave must be sought by the prescribed adoptive parent and granted by the Family Court of Australia to commence proceedings to adopt the child.

2. Before granting leave, the court must consider if it is in the child’s best interest for leave to be granted for the child’s adoption. If the court is satisfied, an order will be granted that permits the adopting parent to make an application to adopt the child.

3. The adopting parent must be deemed suitable to adopt the child by Adoption Services. In Queensland, Adoption Services Queensland is the government agency that oversees and facilitates adoptions once leave is granted for adoption proceedings to commence. To be eligible to apply to adopt a child, certain criteria under the Adoption Act 2009 must be met. These include:

a. The applicant must be at least 18 years of age;
b. The applicant must be a resident or domiciled in Queensland;
c. The applicant must be an Australian citizen or the partner of an Australian citizen;
d. The applicant must be the spouse of the child’s parent and have lived with the child and the child’s parent for three consecutive years prior to the application being made;
e. The applicant must have been granted leave by the Family Court of Australia under the Family Law Act 1975 to start adoption proceedings;
f. The applicant must not be of the same gender as their spouse (the child’s parent); and
g. The child must be at least five years of age but no more than 17 years of age.

4. An application must be made to the Children’s Court of Queensland. Once the adopting parent has obtained confirmation of their eligibility from Adoption Services, they can apply to the Children’s Court of Queensland for a final order for the adoption of the child. The application must be made jointly with the step-parent’s spouse. The court may make a final adoption order for a child if the court is satisfied that:

a. The child is present in Queensland;
b. The step-parent is an adult and residing or living in Queensland;
c. The step-parent or their spouse is an Australian citizen;
d. The step-parent is considered suitable;
e. An order for the child’s adoption would better promote the child’s well-being and bests interests; and
f. If there are exceptional circumstances that warrant the making of the order.

Once a child is adopted, the child’s legal relationship with their biological parents and family is severed and the adoptive parents become legally responsible for the child as if they were the child’s biological parents. This means the child is no longer a child of their former parent.

In the event of a separation from your spouse who is the child’s parent, you would still be considered a parent of that child and deemed to have a duty to financially maintain the child, so you could be liable to pay child support.

An application to adopt a child who is 17 years old is only accepted if a step-parent can prove they can finalise the adoption process before the child turn 18. This means demonstrating that there is enough time to:
- Determine the step-parent’s eligibility;
- Give information and pre-consent counselling to the child and any parent whose consent to the adoption is required;
- Allow the 30-day period for the parent to revoke consent for the adoption to expire;
- Have the step-parent apply to the Childrens Court of Queensland (if applicable);
- Assess the suitability of the step-parent, such as their criminal history, domestic violence history, traffic history and other information from Queensland Police Service;
- Complete a report of the home study assessment; and
- Allow the step-parent to make an application for a final adoption order to the Childrens Court of Queensland.

After you sign the adoption consent form, you have 30 days to change your mind, which is called the revocation period. This period begins the day after you sign the consent form.

Individuals who can revoke or reverse an adoption generally include the birth parents, adoptive parents or the child being adopted. For an adoption to be reversed, a petition must be filed by one of the parties involved who must convince the court of a compelling reason to annul the adoption.