ADOPTION OF CHILDREN AMENDMENT BILL 2002

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ADOPTION OF CHILDREN AMENDMENT BILL 2002

Queensland ADOPTION OF CHILDREN AMENDMENT BILL 2002

Queensland ADOPTION OF CHILDREN AMENDMENT BILL 2002 TABLE OF PROVISIONS Section Page PART 1--PRELIMINARY 1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 Commencement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 PART 2--AMENDMENT OF ADOPTION OF CHILDREN ACT 1964 3 Act amended in pt 2 and sch 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4 Amendment of s 6 (Definitions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5 Amendment of s 7 (Adoption by order of chief executive). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6 Replacement of s 13A (Applications) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Division 1A--Purpose of division, applications, invitations, expressions of interest, assessment after expression of interest and related matters 13A Purposes of division. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 13AA Application for adoption of a special needs child or a child who is a relative ...................................... 6 13AB Chief executive must publicly invite persons to express interest in being assessed as suitable to be prospective adopters . . . . . . . . . . 7 13AC Inclusion of person's name in expression of interest register . . . . . . 8 13AD Information to be given to each person who expresses interest in being assessed as suitable to be a prospective adopter . . . . . . . . . 8 13AE Assessments after person's name entered in adoption list . . . . . . . . . 9 13AF Assessments required to meet anticipated placement needs of children ......................................... 9 7 Amendment of s 13B (Chief executive's assessments) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 8 Amendment of s 13C (Matters to be regarded for assessment). . . . . . . . . . . 12 9 Replacement of s 13D (Prospective adopters). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 13D What happens after favourable assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 13E Ineligibility after person's name entered in assessment register . . . . 13 10 Amendments of s 14 (Further assessment of prospective adopters) . . . . . . . 14 11 Amendments of s 14B (Criminal histories to be disclosed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 12 Amendment of s 14C (Procedure upon assessments under s 14) . . . . . . . . . 15 13 Amendment of s 14D (Reviews by tribunal about adoption lists and assessments) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 14 Replacement of pt 3, div 2, hdg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 15 Amendment of s 17 (Keeping of lists) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 16 Amendment of s 18 (General Children's Adoption List to be ordinarily observed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 17 Insertion of new s 18AA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 18AA Definition of application for div 2A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 18 Omission of s 62 (Deputy director). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 19 Amendment of s 65 (Regulation-making power) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 20 Insertion of new pt 7, div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Division 3--Provisions for Adoption of Children Amendment Act 2002 70 Definitions for div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 71 Transfer of names from the General Children's Adoption List or Foreign Children's Adoption List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 72 Persons on the Foreign Children's Adoption List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 73 Right to apply for review, and reviews not completed, before commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 74 Expectations not otherwise dealt with under ss 71, 72 and 73 . . . . . 25 75 Chief executive may ask for criminal histories in limited cases . . . . 25 PART 3--AMENDMENT OF OTHER ACTS 21 Amendment of Acts in sch 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 SCHEDULE 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENT OF ADOPTION OF CHILDREN ACT 1964 SCHEDULE 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 AMENDMENT OF OTHER ACTS CHILD CARE ACT 1991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 CHILD PROTECTION ACT 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

2002 A BILL FOR An Act to amend the Adoption of Children Act 1964, and for other purposes

s1 4 s4 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1 PART 1--PRELIMINARY 2 1 Short title Clause 3 This Act may be cited as the Adoption of Children Amendment Act 2002. 4 2 Commencement Clause 5 Part 2 and schedule 1 commence on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 6 PART 2--AMENDMENT OF ADOPTION OF CHILDREN 7 ACT 1964 8 3 Act amended in pt 2 and sch 1 Clause 9 This part and schedule 1 amend the Adoption of Children Act 1964. 10 4 Amendment of s 6 (Definitions) Clause 11 (1) Section 6, definitions "adoption list" and "Commonwealth"-- 12 omit. 13 (2) Section 6-- 14 insert-- 15 ` "adopted child" see section 7(2). 16 "adopter" or "adopters" see section 7(2). 17 "adoption list" means-- 18 (a) the Special Needs Children's Adoption List; or 19 (b) the Relative Children's Adoption List. 20 "assessment register" see section 17(7)(d). 21

s5 5 s6 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 "closure day" see section 13AB(4)(b). 1 "expression of interest register" see section 17(7)(c). 2 "invitation" means an invitation, made by the chief executive under 3 section 13AB, to express interest in being assessed as suitable to be a 4 prospective adopter. 5 "prospective adopter" see section 13D(2). 6 "Relative Children's Adoption List" see section 17(7)(b). 7 "Special Needs Children's Adoption List" see section 17(7)(a).'. 8 5 Amendment of s 7 (Adoption by order of chief executive) Clause 9 Section 7(1), from `upon an application'-- 10 omit, insert-- 11 `under this Act.'. 12 6 Replacement of s 13A (Applications) Clause 13 Section 13A-- 14 omit, insert-- 15 `Division 1A--Purpose of division, applications, invitations, expressions 16 of interest, assessment after expression of interest and related matters 17 `13A Purposes of division 18 `(1) This division's purposes include making provision for-- 19 (a) a process for persons to apply to adopt children if an adoption list 20 must be kept for the persons under section 17(1)(a); and 21 (b) a process for persons to express an interest in being assessed as 22 suitable to be prospective adopters of children if a register must 23 be kept for the persons under section 17(1)(b); and 24 (c) processes for assessing the suitability of persons to become 25 prospective adopters if the persons names are in an adoption list, 26 the expression of interest register or assessment register; and 27 (d) processes for deciding about adoptive placements for children. 28 `(2) The processes mentioned in subsection (1)(b), (c) and (d) include-- 29

s6 6 s6 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 (a) keeping a register of persons who express an interest in being 1 assessed as suitable to be prospective adopters, and a register of 2 persons who are prospective adopters; and 3 (b) moderating the entry of the names of persons in the registers; and 4 (c) giving precedence to the needs of children requiring adoptive 5 placements; and 6 (d) enabling the chief executive, as the chief executive considers 7 necessary for meeting the placement needs of a particular child 8 when making a decision about the adoption of the child, to 9 consider the suitability of persons named in the assessment 10 register or the expression of interest register. 11 `13AA Application for adoption of a special needs child or a child 12 who is a relative 13 `(1) A person who wishes to adopt a special needs child, or a child of 14 whom the person is a relative, may apply to the chief executive to become 15 an adoptive parent and to have the person's name entered in the adoption 16 list relevant to the application. 17 `(2) The application must be in the form approved by the chief executive. 18 `(3) The applicant is entitled to have the applicant's name entered in the 19 adoption list relevant to the application. 20 `(4) However, the chief executive must remove the person's name from 21 the adoption list if-- 22 (a) the person is, as prescribed under a regulation, ineligible to have 23 the person's name entered in the adoption list; or 24 (b) the person does not comply with a requirement prescribed under 25 a regulation. 26 `(5) A married couple may make a single application but both of their 27 names must be removed from the adoption list if 1 of their names must be 28 removed from the list under subsection (4). 29 `(6) Within 14 days after the removal of a person's name from the 30 adoption list, the chief executive must give written notice to the person of 31 the removal. 32 `(7) The notice must state-- 33 (a) the reasons for the decision to remove the person's name; and 34

s6 7 s6 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 (b) that the person may apply to the tribunal to have the decision 1 reviewed; and 2 (c) how the person may apply to the tribunal for the review, 3 including the time by which the person must make the 4 application. 5 `13AB Chief executive must publicly invite persons to express interest 6 in being assessed as suitable to be prospective adopters 7 `(1) This section applies if the chief executive considers it necessary to 8 ensure the placement needs of children are met by increasing the number of 9 persons whose names are entered in the expression of interest register. 10 `(2) The chief executive must invite persons to express interest in being 11 assessed as suitable to be prospective adopters. 12 `(3) The invitation must be made by notice in a newspaper circulating 13 throughout the State and also may be made in other ways the chief 14 executive considers appropriate. 15 `(4) The invitation must state-- 16 (a) how a person must express the person's interest; and 17 (b) the day by which expressions of interest must be received by the 18 chief executive for the invitation (the "closure day"). 19 `(5) The chief executive must not include a person's name in an 20 expression of interest register unless-- 21 (a) the person, under this Act, expressed an interest in being assessed 22 as suitable to be a prospective adopter in response to an invitation 23 under this section; and 24 (b) the person's expression of interest was received by the closure 25 day for the invitation. 26 `(6) Subsection (5) is subject to sections 17(6) and 71.1 27 1 Section 17 (Keeping of adoption lists, expression of interest register and assessment register) and 71 (Transfer of names from the General Children's Adoption List or Foreign Children's Adoption List)

s6 8 s6 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 `13AC Inclusion of person's name in expression of interest register 1 `(1) A person whose expression of interest is received by the chief 2 executive by the closure day for the relevant invitation is entitled to have 3 the person's name entered in the expression of interest register. 4 `(2) However, the chief executive must remove the person's name from 5 the register if-- 6 (a) the person is, as prescribed under a regulation, ineligible to have 7 the person's name entered in the register; or 8 (b) the person does not comply with a requirement prescribed under 9 a regulation. 10 `(3) Within 14 days after the removal of a person's name from the 11 register, the chief executive must give written notice to the person of the 12 removal. 13 `(4) The notice must state-- 14 (a) the reasons for the decision to remove the person's name; and 15 (b) that the person may apply to the tribunal to have the decision 16 reviewed; and 17 (c) how the person may apply to the tribunal for the review, 18 including the time by which the person must make the 19 application. 20 `13AD Information to be given to each person who expresses interest 21 in being assessed as suitable to be a prospective adopter 22 `(1) This section applies to each person-- 23 (a) who, under an invitation, expresses interest in being assessed as 24 suitable to be a prospective adopter; and 25 (b) whose name has not been removed from the expression of 26 interest register as mentioned in section 13AC(2). 27 `(2) The chief executive must give to the person a document-- 28 (a) stating the estimated number and characteristics of children 29 needing adoptive placements; and 30 (b) explaining the assessment and selection processes relating to 31 adopters; and 32 (c) stating the fees associated with the assessment process. 33

s6 9 s6 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 `13AE Assessments after person's name entered in adoption list 1 `(1) As soon as practicable after an applicant's name is entered in an 2 adoption list, the chief executive must make an assessment under 3 section 13B about the applicant. 4 `(2) If the applicant has made application to become an adoptive parent 5 of a child of whom the applicant is a relative, the chief executive need not 6 make the assessment until all consents necessary to the making of an 7 adoption order for the child have been obtained or dispensed with or the 8 chief executive has been notified as mentioned in section 25(2A).2 9 `(3) If an applicant has applied to become an adoptive parent of a special 10 needs child, or a special needs child of a particular description, the chief 11 executive need not make the assessment until a special needs child, or a 12 special needs child of that particular description, requires an adoption 13 placement. 14 `13AF Assessments required to meet anticipated placement needs 15 of children 16 `(1) At least once in each financial year, the chief executive must decide 17 the number of persons that, in the chief executive's opinion, is reasonable 18 to assess in the year (the "reasonable number") to meet the anticipated 19 placement needs of children to which the expression of interest register 20 relates. 21 `(2) As the chief executive considers necessary during a financial year, 22 the chief executive may decide another number that is reasonable to assess 23 in the year (also the "reasonable number"). 24 `(3) In deciding the reasonable number under subsection (1) or (2), the 25 chief executive must have regard to-- 26 (a) placement needs of children in previous years; and 27 (b) information received from other jurisdictions; and 28 (c) resources required to ensure the welfare and interests of children 29 are protected; and 30 (d) the number of prospective adopters and the diversity of their 31 characteristics; and 32 (e) another matter the chief executive considers relevant. 33 2 Section 25 (Court may dispense with consents)

s7 10 s7 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 `(4) For each financial year, the chief executive must, from the persons 1 whose names are entered in the expression of interest register, assess a 2 sufficient number of persons to ensure there is, at least, the reasonable 3 number of persons for whom there is a favourable assessment.'. 4 7 Amendment of s 13B (Chief executive's assessments) Clause 5 (1) Section 13B(1), (1A), (2) and (2A)-- 6 omit. 7 (2) Section 13B(3) to (8)-- 8 renumber as section 13B(4) to (9). 9 (3) Section 13B-- 10 insert-- 11 `(1) This section applies to an assessment required under section 13AE 12 or 13AF. 13 `(2) The assessment must decide whether-- 14 (a) for a person whose name is in an adoption list--the welfare and 15 interests of a child to be adopted will be promoted by making an 16 adoption order in favour of the person; or 17 (b) for a person whose name is in the expression of interest 18 register--the person is of good repute and is a fit and proper 19 person to become an adoptive parent. 20 `(3) If a married couple has done either of the following, the chief 21 executive may make 1 assessment of both persons-- 22 (a) made a joint application; 23 (b) jointly expressed an interest in being assessed as suitable to be 24 prospective adopters.'. 25 (4) Section 13B(4), as renumbered, `made under subsection (1) or (1A) 26 to the applicant'-- 27 omit, insert-- 28 `under this section to the person'. 29

s7 11 s7 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 (5) Section 13B(4), as renumbered, `to an applicant or a'-- 1 omit, insert-- 2 `to the person or'. 3 (6) Section 13B(5)(a), as renumbered, `of the applicants'-- 4 omit, insert-- 5 `of the couple'. 6 (7) Section 13B(5)(b), as renumbered-- 7 omit, insert-- 8 `(b) in the case of a notification to a person who is a spouse--the 9 person or the other spouse;'. 10 (8) Section 13B(5) and (6), as renumbered, `(3)'-- 11 omit, insert-- 12 `(4)'. 13 (9) Section 13B(7), as renumbered, from `subsection (1)' to `an 14 applicant'-- 15 omit, insert-- 16 `this section that is unfavourable to a person,'. 17 (10) Section 13B(7)(b), as renumbered, after `application'-- 18 insert-- 19 `or expression of interest'. 20 (11) Section 13B(7), as renumbered, from `the applicant' to `list'-- 21 omit, insert-- 22 `the person or, if the assessment relates to a married couple, the names of 23 both of them, to be removed from the adoption list or the expression of 24 interest register'. 25 (12) Section 13B(8), as renumbered, from `of applicants' to `the 26 order'-- 27 omit, insert-- 28 `of persons whose names are entered in the Relative Children's Adoption 29 List, the chief executive must try to make the assessment under this section 30 in the order'. 31

s8 12 s9 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 (13) Section 13B(8), as renumbered, from `the applicant' to `joint 1 applicants'-- 2 omit, insert-- 3 `the person due to be assessed so approves or, in the case of a married 4 couple that is'. 5 (14) Section 13B(9), as renumbered, from `an applicant' to 6 `section 17(2)(a)'-- 7 omit, insert-- 8 `a person named in the Special Needs Children's Adoption List'. 9 (15) Section 13B(9), as renumbered, `that applicant'-- 10 omit, insert-- 11 `that person'. 12 8 Amendment of s 13C (Matters to be regarded for assessment) Clause 13 (1) Section 13C(b)-- 14 renumber as section 13C(c). 15 (2) Section 13C(a)-- 16 omit, insert-- 17 `(a) all matters mentioned in sections 12 and 133; and 18 (b) all matters prescribed under a regulation as matters to have 19 regard to in making an assessment of a person named in the 20 relevant adoption list or the expression of interest register; and'. 21 (3) Section 13C(c), as renumbered, `referred to in section 17(2)(a) or 22 (c)'-- 23 omit. 24 9 Replacement of s 13D (Prospective adopters) Clause 25 Section 13D-- 26 omit, insert-- 27 3 Sections 12 (Persons in whose favour adoption orders may be made) and 13 (Age of adopters)

s9 13 s9 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 `13D What happens after favourable assessment 1 `(1) This section applies if -- 2 (a) the chief executive has made a favourable assessment under 3 section 13B about-- 4 (i) an applicant under section 13AA;4 or 5 (ii) a person who expressed interest in being assessed as 6 suitable to be a prospective adopter in response to an 7 invitation; or 8 (b) on a review of a decision of the chief executive about a person, 9 the tribunal has, under the Children Services Tribunal Act 2000, 10 section 38(1)(b), set aside the decision and substituted its own 11 decision making a favourable assessment about the person. 12 `(2) The person about whom the favourable assessment is made is a 13 "prospective adopter". 14 `(3) For each prospective adopter, the chief executive must-- 15 (a) make an appropriate notation in the adoption list in which the 16 person is named that states the person is a prospective adopter; or 17 (b) enter the person's name in the assessment register as a 18 prospective adopter. 19 `(4) If the chief executive enters a person's name in the assessment 20 register as a prospective adopter, the chief executive must remove the 21 person's name from the expression of interest register. 22 `13E Ineligibility after person's name entered in assessment register 23 `(1) This section applies to a person at any time after the person's name 24 is entered in the assessment register as a prospective adopter and before an 25 adoption order is made relating to the person. 26 `(2) The chief executive must remove the person's name from the 27 assessment register if-- 28 (a) the person is, as prescribed under a regulation, ineligible to have 29 the person's name remain in the register; or 30 4 Sections 13B (Chief executive's assessments) and 13AA (Application for adoption of a special needs child or a child who is a relative)

s 10 14 s 11 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 (b) the person does not comply with a requirement prescribed under 1 a regulation. 2 `(3) Within 14 days after the removal of a person's name from the 3 register, the chief executive must give written notice to the person of the 4 removal. 5 `(4) The notice must state-- 6 (a) the reasons for the decision to remove the person's name; and 7 (b) that the person may apply to the tribunal to have the decision 8 reviewed; and 9 (c) how the person may apply to the tribunal for the review, 10 including the time by which the person must make the 11 application.'. 12 10 Amendments of s 14 (Further assessment of prospective adopters) Clause 13 (1) Section 14(1), from `in an adoption list' to `or (d)'-- 14 omit, insert-- 15 `in the assessment register'. 16 (2) Section 14(2), `referred to in section 17(2)(a) or (c)'-- 17 omit. 18 11 Amendments of s 14B (Criminal histories to be disclosed) Clause 19 (1) Section 14B(1)-- 20 omit, insert-- 21 `(1) This section applies to each of the following persons-- 22 (a) a person who has applied, under section 13AA,5 to become an 23 adoptive parent and to have the person's name entered in an 24 adoption list but who has not been assessed as a prospective 25 adopter; 26 (b) a person who expressed an interest in being assessed as suitable 27 to be a prospective adopter; 28 5 Section 13AA (Application for adoption of a special needs child or a child who is a relative)

s 12 15 s 13 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 (c) a person who is a prospective adopter and whose name is in an 1 adoption list or the assessment register. 2 `(1A) A person to whom this section applies must, if asked by the chief 3 executive, disclose to the chief executive the person's criminal history to 4 the extent the chief executive considers is necessary to enable a proper 5 assessment to be made of the person as a prospective adopter or under 6 section 14.'. 7 (2) Section 14B(3)(a), `an adoption list referred to in section 17(2)(b) or 8 (d)'-- 9 omit, insert-- 10 `the expression of interest register'. 11 (3) Section 14B(3)(b), `referred to in section 17(2)(a) or (c)'-- 12 omit. 13 (4) Section 14B-- 14 insert-- 15 `(5) The chief executive must destroy a person's criminal history if the 16 chief executive considers it is no longer necessary for this Act.'. 17 12 Amendment of s 14C (Procedure upon assessments under s 14) Clause 18 (1) Section 14C(3), from `to the prospective adopter' to `the chief 19 executive shall'-- 20 omit, insert-- 21 `to a person, the chief executive must'. 22 (2) Section 14C(3), from `name of the prospective adopter' -- 23 omit, insert-- 24 `person's name or, in the case of a married couple, both their names to be 25 removed from the adoption list or assessment register in which the person's 26 name or persons' names were entered.'. 27 13 Amendment of s 14D (Reviews by tribunal about adoption lists Clause 28 and assessments) 29 (1) Section 14D, heading, after `adoption lists'-- 30 insert-- 31

s 14 16 s 15 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 `, expression of interest register, assessment register'. 1 (2) Section 14D(1)(a)-- 2 omit, insert-- 3 `(a) makes a decision that is the ground for the removal of a person's 4 name from an adoption list, the expression of interest register or 5 the assessment register, other than the removal of a person's 6 name from the expression of interest register under 7 section 13D(4);6 or'. 8 14 Replacement of pt 3, div 2, hdg Clause 9 Part 3, division 2, heading-- 10 omit, insert-- 11 `Division 2--Adoption lists, expression of interest register and 12 assessment register'. 13 15 Amendment of s 17 (Keeping of lists) Clause 14 (1) Section 17, heading-- 15 omit, insert-- 16 `17 Keeping of adoption lists, expression of interest register and 17 assessment register'. 18 (2) Section 17(1)-- 19 omit, insert-- 20 `(1) The chief executive must, under this section, keep-- 21 (a) lists of the names of persons who are entitled, as prescribed, to 22 have their names entered in an adoption list; and 23 (b) registers of the names of persons who are entitled, as prescribed, 24 to have their names entered in the expression of interest register 25 or the assessment register.'. 26 6 Section 13D(4) states-- (4) If the chief executive enters the person's name in the assessment register as a prospective adopter, the chief executive must remove the person's name from the expression of register.

s 15 17 s 15 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 (3) Section 17(2)(b) and (d)-- 1 omit. 2 (4) Section 17(2)(c)-- 3 renumber as section 17(2)(b). 4 (5) Section 17(3)-- 5 omit, insert-- 6 `(3) For children other than children mentioned in subsection (2)(a) and 7 (b)-- 8 (a) a register must be kept of persons who, under this Act, have 9 expressed an interest in being assessed as suitable to be 10 prospective adopters; and 11 (b) a register must be kept of persons for whom there have been 12 favourable assessments by the chief executive, under section 13B 13 or 14, or by the tribunal on reviews, that the persons are of good 14 repute and fit and proper persons to become adoptive parents.'. 15 (6) Section 17(5)(b)-- 16 omit, insert-- 17 `(b) keep, for each adoption list and register, the particulars the chief 18 executive considers necessary about each person whose name is 19 entered in the list or register and a description of children that the 20 person's application or expression of interest relates to.'. 21 (7) Section 17(5)-- 22 renumber as section 17(4). 23 (8) Section 17(6)-- 24 omit, insert-- 25 `(5) If-- 26 (a) a person makes an application under section 13AA; and 27 (b) the person's name is or, within 1 month before the date of the 28 application, was included in a similar list (the "interstate list") 29 kept by a person approved for the purposes of the law of another 30 State or a Territory of the Commonwealth; 31 the application is taken to be an application made to the chief executive on 32 the day certified, in writing, by the person having custody of the interstate 33

s 16 18 s 16 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 list to be the day on which the person's application to be included in the 1 interstate list was received or was treated, under the interstate law, as 2 having been received. 3 `(6) If-- 4 (a) a person expresses interest in being assessed as suitable to be a 5 prospective adopter even though the person's expression of 6 interest is not in response to an invitation; and 7 (b) the person's name is or, within 1 month before the date of the 8 expression of interest, was included in a similar register, kept by 9 a person approved for the purposes of the law of another State or 10 a Territory of the Commonwealth; 11 the expression of interest is taken to be an expression of interest received 12 by the chief executive in response to an invitation with a closure day that is 13 the day after the day on which the chief executive received the expression 14 of interest. 15 `(7) In this Act-- 16 (a) the list of applicants mentioned in subsection (2)(a) is the 17 "Special Needs Children's Adoption List"; and 18 (b) the list of applicants mentioned in subsection (2)(b) is the 19 "Relative Children's Adoption List"; and 20 (c) the register of persons mentioned in subsection (3)(a) is the 21 "expression of interest register"; and 22 (d) the register of persons mentioned in subsection (3)(b) is the 23 "assessment register".'. 24 16 Amendment of s 18 (General Children's Adoption List to be Clause 25 ordinarily observed) 26 (1) Section 18, heading-- 27 omit, insert-- 28 `18 Matters to be considered if general consent given, or dispensed 29 with, for adoption of child other than a special needs child'. 30 (2) Section 18(a) and (b)-- 31 omit, insert---- 32

s 16 19 s 16 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 `(a) the needs of the child that are known to the chief executive at the 1 time of making the arrangements; and 2 (b) the characteristics of the prospective adopters; and 3 (c) expressed preferences of the child's parent or guardian; and 4 (d) other matters the chief executive considers, on reasonable 5 grounds, relevant.'. 6 (3) Section 18-- 7 insert-- 8 `(2) In having regard to the child's needs, the chief executive must 9 consider-- 10 (a) the child's age and gender; and 11 (b) the child's indigenous or cultural background; and 12 (c) the child's medical needs, including, for example, known 13 medical conditions, disabilities or potential future health 14 conditions or disabilities; and 15 (d) the educational needs of the child; and 16 (e) the principle that the child should ordinarily be the youngest 17 child in the adoptive family at the time of the adoption order. 18 `(3) In having regard to the characteristics of the prospective adopters, 19 the chief executive must consider-- 20 (a) the age and gender of a child the prospective adopters have been 21 assessed as having the capacity to parent; and 22 (b) whether the prospective adopters have been assessed as having 23 the capacity to parent children who are siblings; and 24 (c) the prospective adopters' religion, if any; and 25 (d) the prospective adopters' indigenous or cultural background; and 26 (e) whether the prospective adopters are willing and have been 27 assessed as having the capacity-- 28 (i) to parent a child with known medical conditions, disabilities 29 or potential future health conditions or disabilities; and 30 (ii) to parent a child from a particular social background; and 31

s 17 20 s 18 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 (iii) to participate in exchanging non-identifying 1 correspondence, through the department, with the child's 2 birth family after an adoption order has been made; and 3 (f) the age of other children in the prospective adopters' family. 4 `(4) In having regard to the expressed preferences of a parent or 5 guardian, particularly preferences stated in the instrument of consent to the 6 adoption of the child, the chief executive must consider-- 7 (a) the child's religious upbringing; and 8 (b) characteristics of prospective adopters and adoptive family 9 composition; and 10 (c) the parent's or guardian's wishes to participate in the voluntary 11 exchange of non-identifying correspondence through the 12 department; and 13 (d) specific preferences the chief executive considers, on reasonable 14 grounds, promote the child's welfare and best interests. 15 `(5) In this section-- 16 "prospective adopters" includes a sole prospective adopter.'. 17 17 Insertion of new s 18AA Clause 18 Part 3, division 2A-- 19 insert-- 20 `18AA Definition of application for div 2A 21 `In this division-- 22 "application" includes an expression of interest to be assessed as suitable 23 to be a prospective adopter in response to an invitation.'. 24 18 Omission of s 62 (Deputy director) Clause 25 Section 62-- 26 omit. 27

s 19 21 s 20 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 19 Amendment of s 65 (Regulation-making power) Clause 1 Section 65(1A)-- 2 insert-- 3 `(ea) the keeping of the expression of interest register and the 4 assessment register, the eligibility of persons to have their names 5 entered in or remain in the registers, notice to the chief executive 6 of changes in circumstances that might affect a person's 7 eligibility and removal of names from the registers;'. 8 20 Insertion of new pt 7, div 3 Clause 9 Part 7-- 10 insert-- 11 `Division 3--Provisions for Adoption of Children Amendment Act 2002 12 `70 Definitions for div 3 13 `In this division-- 14 "adoption list" means an adoption list existing immediately before the 15 commencement. 16 "commencement" means commencement of this section. 17 "deferred" means a decision of the chief executive to defer the matter of 18 an application as mentioned in pre-amended section 13B(6)(b). 19 "favourable assessment" means a favourable assessment under 20 pre-amended section 13B or by the tribunal on a review of a decision 21 made under that section. 22 "Foreign Children's Adoption List" means the Foreign Children's 23 Adoption List as it existed immediately before the commencement. 24 "General Children's Adoption List" means the General Children's 25 Adoption List as it existed immediately before the commencement. 26 "pre-amended", in relation to a section, means the section as in force 27 immediately before the commencement. 28

s 20 22 s 20 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 `71 Transfer of names from the General Children's Adoption List 1 or Foreign Children's Adoption List 2 `(1) This section's purpose is to provide for persons-- 3 (a) who, under section 13A as in force before the commencement, 4 applied for their names to be entered in an adoption list but 5 whose names were not entered in the adoption list before the 6 commencement; or 7 (b) whose names were, before the commencement, entered in an 8 adoption list. 9 `(2) If, before the commencement, a person applied to become an 10 adoptive parent and to have the person's name entered in the appropriate 11 adoption list but the person's name has not been entered in the appropriate 12 list before the commencement, the person's application is to be dealt with 13 only as follows-- 14 (a) if the application related to a special needs child or a child of 15 whom the person is a relative--the application is an application 16 under section 13AA; 17 (b) otherwise--the application is an expression of interest in 18 response to an invitation that is received by the chief executive 19 before the closure day for the invitation. 20 `(3) If, immediately before the commencement, a person is named in the 21 General Children's Adoption List or Foreign Children's Adoption List and 22 an assessment of the person has not begun, or was begun but was deferred, 23 the chief executive must transfer all information about the person to the 24 expression of interest register. 25 `(4) If, immediately before the commencement, a person is named in the 26 General Children's Adoption List or Foreign Children's Adoption List and 27 an assessment of the person has begun and has not been deferred or 28 completed, the chief executive must-- 29 (a) transfer all information about the person to the expression of 30 interest register; and 31 (b) continue with the assessment. 32 `(5) If, immediately before the commencement, a person is named in the 33 General Children's Adoption List or Foreign Children's Adoption List and 34 a favourable assessment has been made about the person, the chief 35 executive must transfer all information about the person to the assessment 36 register. 37

s 20 23 s 20 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 `(6) If, immediately before the commencement, a person is named in the 1 Special Needs Children's Adoption List or Relative Children's Adoption 2 List, the person's name continues to be entered in the relevant adoption list 3 together with a notation about the person made in the list. 4 `72 Persons on the Foreign Children's Adoption List 5 `(1) This section applies to assessing persons, as mentioned in 6 section 13AF(4),7 as suitable to be prospective adopters for children who 7 are resident in another country. 8 `(2) The chief executive must-- 9 (a) assess only prior applicants until each prior applicant has been 10 removed from the expression of interest register; and 11 (b) assess the prior applicants in the order in which their names were 12 included in the Foreign Children's Adoption List. 13 `(3) However, despite subsection (2)(a), for responding to the placement 14 needs of children resident in another country, the chief executive may 15 assess other persons if the chief executive considers it is necessary to assess 16 those other persons because of the overseas criteria of the other country. 17 `(4) Also, despite subsection (2)(b), the chief executive may assess prior 18 applicants other than in the order in which their names were included in the 19 Foreign Children's Adoption List if-- 20 (a) each prior applicant due to be assessed before the prior applicant 21 or prior applicants that the chief executive proposes to assess 22 agrees to the postponement of the assessment; or 23 (b) the chief executive considers it is necessary to depart from the 24 order to respond to the placement needs of children resident in 25 another country because of-- 26 (i) the welfare and interests of children resident in the other 27 country; or 28 (ii) the overseas criteria of the other country. 29 30 Example of paragraph (b)(i)-- 31 A prior applicant previously adopted a child from Hong Kong and 32 applied to adopt a second child from Hong Kong. Hong Kong advises 7 Section 13AF (Assessments required to meet anticipated placement needs of children)

s 20 24 s 20 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 1 that the previously adopted child has a sibling who also requires an 2 adoptive family. It would be for the welfare and in the interests of the 3 child in Hong Kong (and the previously adopted child in Australia) to 4 assess the prior applicant before other prior applicants. `(5) In this section-- 5 "another country" means a country outside of the Commonwealth and the 6 Territories of the Commonwealth. 7 "other persons" means persons whose names are entered in the expression 8 of interest register but who are not prior applicants. 9 "overseas criteria" means criteria, preferences or requirements given to 10 the chief executive by an entity with functions about adoption in 11 another country, relating to adopting a child from that other country, 12 including-- 13 (a) the number of prospective adopters about which the chief 14 executive may send information to the entity at any one time; or 15 (b) the characteristics that the other country or entity requires of 16 prospective adopters in relation to the placement needs of 17 children resident in that other country. 18 "prior applicants" means persons about whom information is, under 19 section 71(3), transferred to the expression of interest register 20 because, immediately before the commencement, the persons' names 21 are entered in the Foreign Children's Adoption List. 22 `73 Right to apply for review, and reviews not completed, before 23 commencement 24 `(1) If a person was, immediately before the commencement, entitled to 25 apply for a review of a reviewable matter, the person's right to apply for a 26 review continues as if the amendment Act had not commenced. 27 `(2) If a person had, before the commencement, applied to the tribunal 28 for a review of a reviewable matter, the tribunal must continue to deal with 29 the application for the review as if the amendment Act had not commenced. 30 `(3) If, as a result of an application to the tribunal for a review of a 31 reviewable matter as mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) or an application or 32 appeal to a court relating to the reviewable matter, the person's name is not 33 to be removed from an adoption list or a favourable assessment of the 34 person is made, section 71 applies in relation to the entry of the person's 35

s 20 25 s 20 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 name in the adoption list as if that entry existed immediately before the 1 commencement of section 71. 2 `(4) In this section-- 3 "amendment Act" means the Adoption of Children Amendment Act 2002. 4 "reviewable matter" means a decision or assessment that may be the 5 subject of an application for a review of the decision or assessment 6 under pre-amended section 14D. 7 `74 Expectations not otherwise dealt with under ss 71, 72 and 73 8 `(1) If, immediately before the commencement, a person has-- 9 (a) an expectation in relation to the chief executive assessing persons 10 under the pre-amended section 13B(1); or 11 (b) an expectation in relation to the chief executive assessing 12 persons, as mentioned in pre-amended section 13B(7), in the 13 order in which names are included in the Foreign Children's 14 Adoption List or the General Children's Adoption List; 15 the expectations are extinguished. 16 `(2) If, immediately before the commencement, a person has an 17 expectation in relation to the chief executive having regard to the order of 18 names in the General Children's Adoption List as mentioned in 19 pre-amended section 18, the expectation is extinguished. 20 `(3) In this section-- 21 "expectation" includes right, privilege, entitlement and eligibility. 22 `75 Chief executive may ask for criminal histories in limited cases 23 `(1) This section applies to a person if-- 24 (a) the chief executive was entitled, before the commencement of 25 this section, to request a person to disclose the person's criminal 26 history and the chief executive has not done so; and 27 (b) the person's name is, under section 71(3), (4) and (5), entered in 28 the expression of interest register or assessment register or 29 continues to be entered in an adoption list. 30

s 21 26 s 21 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 `(2) The person is a person to whom section 14B8 applies and the chief 1 executive may, under that section, ask the person to disclose the person's 2 criminal history.'. 3 PART 3--AMENDMENT OF OTHER ACTS 4 21 Amendment of Acts in sch 2 Clause 5 Schedule 2 amends the Acts mentioned in it. 6 8 Section 14B (Criminal histories to be disclosed)

27 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 SCHEDULE 1 1 CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENT OF ADOPTION OF 2 CHILDREN ACT 1964 3 section 3 4 1 Section 16(3), `application for the'-- 5 omit. 6 2 Section 20(1), from `or prospective adopters' to `a child'-- 7 omit. 8 3 Section 20(3), from `applicant' to `adoptive parents'-- 9 omit, insert-- 10 `person or particular persons'. 11 4 Section 25(1), `its consent'-- 12 omit, insert-- 13 `the child's consent'. 14 5 Section 25(2), from `before' to `with the chief executive'-- 15 omit. 16 6 Section 25(2A), from `the assessment' to `subsection (2)'-- 17 omit, insert-- 18 `an assessment of a person under section 13B that the chief executive 19 considers necessary,'. 20

28 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 SCHEDULE 1 (continued) 7 Section 25(2A)(a) and (b), `applicant or applicants'-- 1 omit, insert-- 2 `person or persons'. 3 8 Section 27B(3), from `Where' to `adoption of a child'-- 4 omit, insert-- 5 `If the chief executive wishes to make an adoption order relating to a 6 child'. 7 9 Section 27B(3), `the application'-- 8 omit, insert-- 9 `the adoption'. 10 10 Section 45(1)(a), after `tribunal)'-- 11 insert-- 12 `or an expression of interest in being assessed as suitable to be a 13 prospective adopter'. 14 11 Section 45(1)(c)-- 15 omit, insert-- 16 `(c) the proceedings relating to an application or an expression of 17 interest mentioned in paragraph (a), or an application mentioned 18 in paragraph (b);'. 19 12 Section 45(1), after `applicant,'-- 20 insert-- 21 `the person who expressed interest in being assessed as suitable to be a 22 prospective adopter,'. 23

29 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 SCHEDULE 1 (continued) 13 Section 46(2), after `adoption of a child'-- 1 insert-- 2 `, an expression of interest in being assessed as suitable to be a 3 prospective adopter,'. 4 14 Section 49(a) and (b), after `application'-- 5 insert-- 6 `, expression of interest in being assessed as suitable to be a prospective 7 adopter,'. 8 15 Section 59A(1), from `has applied' to `an adoptive parent'-- 9 omit, insert-- 10 `made an application under section 13AA or expressed interest in being 11 assessed as suitable to be a prospective adopter'. 12

30 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 SCHEDULE 2 1 AMENDMENT OF OTHER ACTS 2 section 21 3 CHILD CARE ACT 1991 4 1 Section 3-- 5 insert-- 6 ` "approved form" means a form approved by the chief executive under 7 section 82B.'. 8 2 Sections 10(a), `in a form and way approved by the chief 9 executive'-- 10 omit, insert-- 11 `in the approved form'. 12 3 Sections 36(2), `in a way and form approved by the chief 13 executive'-- 14 omit, insert-- 15 `in the approved form'. 16 4 Sections 62(3)(b) and 79(2), `in a form approved by the chief 17 executive'-- 18 omit, insert-- 19 `in the approved form'. 20 5 After section 82A-- 21 insert-- 22

31 Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002 SCHEDULE 2 (continued) `82B Chief executive may approve forms 1 `The chief executive may approve forms for this Act.'. 2 6 Insertion of new s 89 3 After section 88-- 4 insert-- 5 `89 Forms approved under s 73G before commencement of s 82B 6 `The chief executive's purported approval of a form for section 73G 7 before the commencement of this section is valid9 and a consent given on 8 the form is as valid as if it had been given on a form approved under 9 section 82B.' 10 CHILD PROTECTION ACT 1999 11 1 Section 190(2)(c), before `the period'-- 12 insert-- 13 `by stating'. 14 � State of Queensland 2002 9 Form 18 (Consent to Criminal History Check, Independent Home-Based Care) purportedly was approved under the Child Care Act 1991, section 73G and notice of the approval appeared in the gazette on 9 February 2001 at page 506.

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