Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts

ADOPTION AMENDMENT ACT 2009 (NO 2) (NO. 36 OF 2009) - SECT 23

Section 43 (1) and (2)

substitute

    (1)     Subject to this Act and the provisions of any other Territory law that expressly distinguishes between adopted people and other people, on the making of an adoption order, for all purposes—

        (a)     the adopted person becomes in law a child of the adoptive parents, and the adoptive parents become in law the parents of the adopted person as if the adopted person had been born to the adoptive parents; and

        (b)     the adopted person ceases to be a child of the birth parents or of any person (a pre-adoption parent ) who was an adoptive parent before the making of the adoption order, and any such pre-adoption parent ceases to be a parent of the adopted person; and

        (c)     if the order is made in favour of a step-parent—the relationship of the adopted person with the parent living in a domestic partnership with the step-parent is not affected; and

        (d)     the relationship to one another of all people (including the adopted person and the adoptive parents, birth parents or any former adoptive parent) must be decided on the basis of paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) so far as they are relevant; and

        (e)     any existing appointment of a person as guardian of the adopted person ceases to have effect; and

        (f)     any previous adoption of the adopted person (whether under a Territory law or otherwise) ceases to have effect.

    (2)     However, an adoption order does not exclude any right of inheritance that the adopted person might otherwise have from or through a deceased person if—

        (a)     1 of the birth or former adoptive parents of an adopted person has died; and

        (b)     an adoption order is made in favour of a step-parent after that death.