New South Wales Consolidated Acts

ADOPTION ACT 2000 - SECT 63

63 Child or other person consenting must be counselled

(1) A child or other person giving consent must be counselled in accordance with this section within the period prescribed by the regulations before he or she signs the instrument of consent to an adoption.

(2) A person is counselled in accordance with this section if a counsellor:

(a) accurately explains to the person, in a way that the counsellor thinks will be understood by the person:

(i) the legal effect of signing the instrument of consent and the procedure for revoking consent, and

(ii) the effect of the mandatory written information, and

(b) counsels the person on the emotional effects of the adoption and alternatives to adoption (including, in the case of birth parents, the feasibility of keeping the child).

(3) This section does not require the Minister administering the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 or any delegate of the Minister to be counselled before giving consent to the adoption of a child who is under the parental responsibility of the Minister.