Australian Capital Territory Consolidated Acts Australian Capital Territory Consolidated Acts(1) Subject to this Act and to the provisions of any law of the Territory that expressly distinguishes in any way between adopted children and children other than adopted children, on the making of an adoption order, for all purposes—
(a) the adopted child becomes in contemplation of law a child of the adoptive parents, and the adoptive parents become in contemplation of law the parents of the child as if the child had been born to the adoptive parents; and
(b) the adopted child ceases to be a child of the birth parents or of any person who was an adoptive parent before the making of the adoption order, and any such person ceases to be a parent of the child; and
(c) if the order is made in favour of a person mentioned in section 18 (2)—the relationship of the child with the parent mentioned in that subsection is not affected; and
(d) the relationship to one another of all persons (including the adopted child and the adoptive parents, birth parents or any former adoptive parent) must be determined 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 child ceases to have effect; and
(f) any previous adoption of the child (whether under the law of the Territory or otherwise) ceases to have effect.
(2) If—
(a) 1 of the birth or former adoptive parents of a child has died; and
(b) an adoption order is made in favour of a person mentioned in section 18 (2) after that death;
the adoption does not exclude any right of inheritance that the child might otherwise have from or through the deceased person.
(3) Despite subsection (1), for any law of the Territory relating to a sexual offence, being a law under which the relationship between persons is relevant, an adoption order, or an order discharging an adoption order, must not be taken to cause the cessation of any relationship that would otherwise have existed, and any such relationship is taken to exist in addition to any relationship that exists because of the application of that subsection or because of the discharge of the adoption order.