Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts Australian Capital Territory Numbered Actssubstitute
Division 3.1 Who can be adopted?
9 Adoption of child or young person
An adoption order may be made for a person who—
(a) was under 18 years old on the day the application was filed in the court; and
(b) is present in the ACT.
10 Adoption of person 18 years old or older
An adoption order may be made for a person who was 18 years old or older on the day the application was filed in the court if the person—
(a) has been reared, maintained and educated by the applicant or applicants under a de facto adoption; and
(b) is present in the ACT.
Note The following provisions do not apply to the adoption of a person who was 18 years old or older on the day the application was filed in the court:
• div 3.2 (Who can adopt?) (other than s 13 (Residency requirement));
• div 3.3 (Consents to adoptions) (other than s 28 (Consent of applicant not required), s 30 (Instrument of consent) and s 34 (1) (Defective consents));
• div 3.4 (Placement of child or young person before adoption);
• div 3.5 (Guardianship before adoption);
• div 3.6 (Proceedings for an adoption order) (other than s 39A, s 39B (1) (a), s 39B (2), s 39B (3), s 39C, s 39I and s 39L);
• div 3.7 (Conditional orders);
• s 45 (Names of adopted child or young person);
• s 46 (Effect of order on domicile);
• div 3.9 (Interim orders).
11 Previous adoption immaterial
An adoption order may be made even if the person has previously been adopted, before or after the commencement of this Act, in the ACT or elsewhere.
12 Frustration of immigration law
An adoption order must not be made if the court considers that it is being sought primarily as a means of evading the operation of a law of the Commonwealth relating to immigration.
Division 3.2 Who can adopt?
13 Residency requirement
(1) An adoption order may only be made in favour of a person, or 2 people, who are ordinarily resident in the ACT.
(2) This section does not apply to an adoption order under section 57 (Adoption in ACT of ACT child or young person by parents from Convention country).
14 Adoption by couple
An adoption order for a child or young person may be made in favour of 2 people jointly if—
(a) neither of them is a parent, step-parent or relative of the child or young person; and
(b) they have lived together in a domestic partnership for at least 3 years (whether married or not); and
(c) the court considers they have demonstrated the stability of, and their commitment to, the domestic partnership; and
(d) they are on the register of suitable people.
Note 1 For adoption by a step-parent or relative of a child or young person, see s 15 and s 17.
Note 2 For the meaning of domestic partnership , see the Legislation Act, s 169.
15 Adoption by step-parent
An adoption order for a child or young person may be made in favour of a step-parent of the child or young person if—
(a) the instrument of consent shows consent to adoption by the step-parent; and
(b) the Family Court of Australia has given the step-parent leave to commence a proceeding for the adoption of the child or young person under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cwlth), section 60G; and
(c) the step-parent is on the register of suitable people.
16 Adoption by one person
An adoption order for a child or young person may be made in favour of one person (other than a step-parent or relative of the child or young person) if—
(a) the instrument of consent shows consent to adoption by one person; and
(b) the person is not in a domestic partnership; and
(c) the person is on the register of suitable people.
17 Adoption by relative
An adoption order for a child or young person may be made in favour of a relative of the child or young person if—
(a) the instrument of consent shows consent to adoption by the relative; and
(b) the court considers that—
(i) the family circumstances mean that it would be beneficial for the child or young person if the relationships within the family were redefined in the way the order would redefine them; and
(ii) it would not be preferable to make an order relating to guardianship or custody of the child or young person; and
(c) the relative is on the register of suitable people.
18 Approval of suitable people
(1) A person may apply in writing to the chief executive for approval to be registered as suitable for the placement of a child or young person for adoption.
(2) The chief executive must—
(a) approve the application; or
(b) refuse to approve the application.
(3) In deciding the application, the chief executive must consider whether the applicant is suitable for the placement of a child or young person for adoption having regard to the criteria set out in section 39F (1) (c) (Deciding application for adoption order for child or young person).
(4) The chief executive must not approve an application if the applicant is not ordinarily resident in the ACT.
19 Register of suitable people
(1) The chief executive must keep—
(a) a register of people whose application to be registered as suitable for the placement of a child or young person for adoption has been approved; and
(b) records of people whose application to be registered as suitable for the placement of a child or young person for adoption—
(i) has been refused; or
(ii) has been approved, but for which the approval has been withdrawn.
(2) The chief executive may review the register kept under subsection (1) (a) and—
(a) must remove a person from the register if satisfied on reasonable grounds that the person is no longer suitable having regard to the criteria set out in section 39F (1) (c) (Deciding application for adoption order for child or young person); and
(b) may remove a person from the register if satisfied on reasonable grounds that the person is no longer ordinarily resident in the ACT.
(3) If the chief executive removes a person from the register under subsection (2), the chief executive must give the person written notice of the removal.