Victorian Consolidated Regulations Victorian Consolidated Regulations(1) For the purposes of section 35(1)(b) and (c) of the Act, the information in writing to be given by a counsellor and the notice in writing to be given to the person receiving counselling must be in Form 8 of Schedule 1 and contain the information referred to in subregulation (2).
(2) A person who provides counselling under section 35(1) of the Act to a person (a relevant person ) proposing to give consent to the adoption of the relevant person's child must give the relevant person written information about the following matters in a language readily understood by the relevant person—
(a) the procedures, and the provisions of the Act and these Regulations, applying to the giving of consent, including, if applicable, the specific procedures and provisions applying to—
(i) the giving of consent to the adoption of a child by a relative or a relative's spouse or domestic partner; and
(ii) the adoption of an Aboriginal child;
(b) the procedure, and the provisions of the Act and these Regulations, relating to extending the period for revoking consent and the process for revoking consent within that period;
(c) the procedure, and the provisions of the Act and these Regulations, applying once consent may no longer be revoked but before an adoption order is made;
(d) if the child is an Aboriginal child, the importance of the child maintaining their Aboriginal identity;
(e) the importance to the child of knowing that each parent has had the opportunity to participate in the planning of the adoption placement;
(f) the long-term rights and interests of the child in knowing their origins, including knowledge of genetic and medical information;
(g) the importance of knowledge of the information in paragraph (f) in the development of the child's identity;
(h) the importance of considering the child's rights and interests as separate from the mother's interests and needs;
(i) the possible psychological effects, both short and long-term—
(i) in the case of the parent, of consenting to the adoption; and
(ii) in the case of the child, of being adopted;
(j) the rights and responsibilities of the parties to an adoption, including those relating to—
(i) adoption plans, including the requirement that prospective adoptive parents understand the importance of participation in forming an adoption plan in relation to a child; and
(ii) access to a child's natural parent and family; and
(iii) exchange of information about the child with the child's natural parent and family; and
(k) the different arrangements that may be made for the child.