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1
Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
ADOPTION OF CHILDREN AMENDMENT
BILL 2002
EXPLANATORY NOTES
GENERAL OUTLINE
Objectives of the legislation
To amend the Adoption of Children Act 1964 to provide for more
efficient and child focussed adoption application processes that reflect
contemporary adoption practice.
To make minor technical amendments to the Child Care Act 1991 and
the Child Protection Act 1999.
Reasons for the objectives and how they will be achieved
The capacity of the Department of Families to provide efficient and
relevant adoption services is constrained by outdated provisions in the
Adoption of Children Act 1964 that do not reflect the contemporary context
regarding the adoption of children. All States, except Queensland, have
proclaimed new adoption legislation to increase the focus of adoption
service delivery on the needs of children requiring adoptive families and to
reflect a contemporary context for adoption practices.
Since the 1960s there have been significant changes in demographics,
social values and community views that impact on the provision of
adoption services and which are not reflected in the State's adoption
legislation. The government has therefore commenced a comprehensive
review of the Adoption of Children Act 1964.
While the review is being conducted, a number of changes to the current
Act have been identified as requiring urgent attention. The amendments in
the Bill will assist in ensuring the objective of the Act to secure the best
possible placements for children is achieved in the contemporary context
and will promote greater efficiency and responsiveness in the delivery of
adoption services. The Bill will operate until new adoption legislation is
developed.
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
The Adoption of Children Act 1964 enables persons wishing to adopt a
child to lodge an application at any time and all applicants are entitled to
have their names entered in the relevant adoption list. The Act requires four
adoption applicant lists to be kept the Special Needs Children's Adoption
List, the Foreign Children's Adoption List, the Relative Children's
Adoption List and the General Children's Adoption List. Applicants must
meet minimum standards to be eligible to be on the lists. The Act requires
that, generally, applicants be assessed for suitability as prospective
adoptive parents in chronological order of their applications. This
requirement would have been appropriate in 1964, when the legislation was
enacted, as the number of children requiring an adoptive placement was
much closer to and at times exceeded the number of people seeking to
adopt a child.
In 2000/2001, 49 adoption orders were made in Queensland in relation
to non-relative children. As at 30 June 2001, the number of applicants on
the General Children's Adoption List (303) and those on the Foreign
Children's Adoption List (471) far exceeded the number of children
requiring adoptive placements in Queensland. Further, the Foreign
Children's Adoption List is rapidly growing, and is disproportionate to the
number of applications able to be managed in a timely manner by the
department and overseas adoption authorities.
As a result of the legislative requirements and the rapidly growing lists,
departmental resources are being diverted from providing timely and
optimum support to children requiring adoptive placements and expended
on the processing of new applications and the maintenance of applicant
lists.
The current legislation is also unsatisfactory from the perspective of
applicants whose applications are made in good faith that a child will be
placed with them, because a child may never be placed with them due to
the disproportionate number of adoptive placements required by children in
Queensland.
The amendments will enable the department's chief executive officer to
manage adoption applicant lists to ensure that children requiring adoptive
placements are provided with the best possible placement in the most
efficient manner.
The amendments will establish an `expressions of interest' register and
an `assessment' register to replace the current General Children's Adoption
List and the Foreign Children's Adoption List. Transitional provisions in
the Bill provide for all current applications on these two lists to be
automatically transferred to the appropriate register, depending on whether
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
the applicants have been assessed or not at the time the amendments
commence.
The amendments will enable the department to call for expressions of
interest in being assessed as a prospective adoptive parent, when required
to meet the anticipated placement needs of children. This will ensure that
waiting lists do not continue to grow disproportionately to the anticipated
placement needs of children and will, once current applicants have been
processed, ensure the reduction in waiting times for persons seeking to be
assessed as prospective adoptive parents.
The Bill removes the requirement for applicants to be assessed in
chronological order. This will enable assessments to be prioritised in
accordance with the needs of children requiring adoptive families and the
flexibility needed to efficiently respond to the requirement of overseas
adoption authorities, with which Queensland has arrangements. A
transitional clause has been included in the Bill to reduce the impact on
current applicants on the Foreign Children's Adoption List. Once current
applications have been processed, date order of lodgement of expressions
of interest will no longer be relevant as persons will be lodging expressions
of interest at the same time in response to a call for expressions of interest.
The Bill also removes the requirement on the chief executive to match
children born in Queensland who require adoptive families with applicants
generally in date order of their application. The amendments replace this
requirement with a list of matters related to the needs and interests of
children to which the chief executive must have regard when making
placement decisions for children born in Queensland.
The amendments to the Adoption of Children Act 1964 reflect the
legislative and administrative processes in operation in other States, which
moderate entry to the adoption process. Specifically, adoption legislation
in most other Australian States and Territories allow adoption applications
to be accepted only when additional applicants are required to meet the
adoptive placement needs of children. This avoids situations, such as in
Queensland, where there are hundreds of people waiting on adoption
applicant lists, with only a small number of children requiring adoptive
placements and able to be placed in Queensland.
The Bill also contains minor, technical amendments to the Child Care
Act 1991 and the Child Protection Act 1999 which had previously been
identified for inclusion in the next Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Bill.
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
Estimated costs for government implementation
There will be some minor costs involved in establishing the new
registers. These costs will be met internally by the Department of Families.
Consultation
Consultation has occurred with:
the Commission for Children and Young People;
·
Queensland Health;
·
Disability Services Queensland;
·
the Children Services Tribunal;
·
the Office for Women, Department of the Premier and Cabinet;
·
and
the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy.
·
Consultation has also occurred with representatives of intercountry
adoption support groups and their views have been taken into account in
the drafting of the Bill. Broader community consultation has not occurred
as the matters which are the subject of the Bill will be included in the
public consultation process to be undertaken in 2002 as part of the
comprehensive review of the Adoption of Children Act 1964.
Consistency with fundamental legislative principles
Whether legislation has sufficient regard to rights and liberties of
individuals, for example, the legislation does not adversely affect rights
and liberties, or impose obligations, retrospectively. (Legislative Standards
Act 1992, section 4(3)(g).)
Clause 6--Replacement of section 13A (Applications)
Under the current legislation, persons wishing to adopt a child may
apply at any time. Under the amended legislation, a person wishing to
adopt a child (other than a child with special needs or a child who is a
relative) will not be able to lodge a formal expression of interest except in
response to a publicly advertised call for expressions of interest by the
chief executive. Expressions of interest will only be called for when it is
necessary to increase the number of persons on the register to meet the
anticipated placement needs of children. The change is procedural and
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
merely regulates when expressions of interest may be lodged. It does not
prevent any member of the community from seeking to adopt a child. For
this reason, the amendment is not inconsistent with fundamental legislative
principles.
Clause 7--Amendment of section 13B (Chief executive's assessments)
Currently, section 13B(7) of the Adoption of Children Act 1964 requires
applicants on the General Children's Adoption List, the Foreign Children's
Adoption List and the Relative Children's Adoption List to be assessed
generally in the chronological order in which their applications were
received. The amendments will remove this requirement in relation to
assessments of applicants on the General Children's Adoption List and the
Foreign Children's Adoption List.
The purpose of this amendment is to enable the chief executive to
consider all persons who have expressed interest in being assessed and to
prioritise assessments in accordance with the needs of children requiring
adoptive placements and the requirements of overseas adoption authorities,
rather than solely on the basis of the date at which a person lodged their
application. For example, it would enable the chief executive to search the
register to prioritise for assessment persons of the same cultural
background as children requiring adoptive families. Clause 6 of the Bill,
which creates new section 13AF, sets out a range of matters the chief
executive must have regard to when deciding the number of assessments to
be done in each year. The criteria for assessments set out in the Regulation
will remain the same.
A transitional provision (new section 72) has been included in the Bill to
enable current applicants on the Foreign Children's Adoption List who are
transferred to the expression of interest register to continue to be assessed
generally in chronological order. However, the transitional provision will
allow greater flexibility in prioritising the order of assessments than is
currently the case by enabling the chief executive to respond to information
provided by overseas countries about the placement needs of children and
their requirements for prospective adoptive parents. This will ensure that
resources are not unnecessarily expended on assessing persons who will
not meet the requirements of the overseas countries and will ensure greater
responsiveness to the needs of children in overseas countries as
communicated by the overseas adoption authority.
This transitional provision does not apply to persons currently on the
General Children's Adoption List who will also automatically transfer to
the new registers. This is because the very small number of children born
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
in Queensland who require adoptive placements and the large numbers of
persons on this List would mean that the substantive provisions would not
be able to come into force for many years. It is imperative at this point in
time that the department has the flexibility to progress the applications of
persons on this list who have the most potential to provide the best possible
adoptive placements for children rather than being constrained by a
requirement to assess them in chronological order.
Whilst this may impact negatively on a small number of current
applicants, it is considered justifiable in order to further the objective of the
Act in section 5A to "facilitate securing for children who are available for
adoption the best possible placements..." and to ensure the application of
the principle, contained in section 10 of the Act, that "the welfare and
interests of the child concerned shall be regarded as the paramount
consideration".
Clause 16--Amendment of section 18 (General Children's Adoption List
to be ordinarily observed)
Section 18 of the Act sets out the matters the chief executive must have
regard to when deciding which prospective adoptive parents (that is, which
favourably assessed applicants) the chief executive will approve for the
adoption of an individual child in Queensland for whom a general consent
has been given. For making placement decisions for children in
Queensland, under section 18, the chief executive officer is currently
required to have regard to the order of the names of applicants in the
General Children's Adoption List.
As with the amendment to section 13B(7) mentioned above, this
amendment removes the requirement to have regard to the chronological
order and replaces it with a range of factors specifically relevant to the
welfare and interests of individual children when deciding the best possible
adoptive placements for local children. These factors are based on
knowledge of adoption outcomes and disruption factors identified through
research in this area. They cannot be prescriptive, however, as the specific
needs of individual children regarding their welfare and best interests can
vary greatly.
The purpose of this amendment is, again, to further the objective of the
Act to secure the best possible placements for children.
Clause 20--new section 74
The Bill includes a transitional provision to explicitly extinguish any
expectation that applicants may have under the current Act that they will be
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
assessed and have a child placed with them in accordance with their
chronological order on the list. This provision has been included as a result
of the Supreme Court decision in Tyler v Tullipan and Ors [2001] QSC,
where it was held that a right or privilege accruing to a prisoner in relation
to eligibility for home detention under the Corrective Services Act 1988
continued after the commencement of the Corrective Services Act 2000
(which provided for different arrangements for the release of prisoners)
because that Act did not contain a provision which explicitly extinguished
that right or privilege. The potential application of this decision to all new
legislation which alters or affects individual's rights, entitlements or
expectations requires, as a matter of caution, an explicit statement in this
Bill that it is the intention of Parliament to do so.
If a right or expectation under the current Act to be assessed or matched
with a child in accordance with the applicant's chronological order on a list
exists, any argument for the preservation of this right or expectation must
be balanced, in the contemporary context, against the legislative obligation
to ensure for children the best possible adoptive placements.
Whether legislation has sufficient regard to rights and liberties of
individuals, for example, the legislation makes rights and liberties, or
obligations, dependent on administrative power only if the power is
sufficiently defined and subject to appropriate review. (Legislative
Standards Act 1992, section 4(3)(a).)
Clause 16--Amendment of section 18 (General Children's Adoption List
to be ordinarily observed)
The principle of appropriate review of the exercise of administrative
power, embodied in the Legislative Standards Act 1992, cannot be
appropriately applied to decisions of the chief executive under section 18
about which prospective adoptive parents would provide the best
placement for an individual child.
The exercise of review rights depends on the provision of advice about
the decision and the reasons for the decision to persons with standing to
seek review of the decision. It would be inappropriate to advise all
prospective adoptive parents of a decision to match an individual child with
particular prospective adoptive parents and the reasons for that decision.
Such advice would involve disclosing personal information about the child,
the birth parents and the adoptive parents and would contravene their rights
to privacy and breach the confidentiality provisions of the Act. Further, the
provision of review rights to other prospective adoptive parents in respect
of a decision of the chief executive to place a child with specific adoptive
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
parents would inappropriately delay the making of the adoption order
itself. This would result in the child remaining in pre-adoptive foster care
and being denied a permanent legal family while the matter is litigated. It
is not in children's interests for such delays to occur, and would therefore
be contrary to the objective of the Act, which stipulates that the best
interests of children are the paramount consideration.
The issue of how placement decisions should be made and
accountability for those decisions will be the subject of consideration
during the review of the Adoption of Children Act 1964.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
PART 1--PRELIMINARY
Clause 1 sets out the short title of the Act.
Clause 2 provides for part 2 and schedule 1 of the Act to commence on a
day to be fixed by proclamation. Part 3 and the schedule 2 which deal with
minor technical amendments to the Child Care Act 1991 and the Child
Protection Act 1999 will commence on Assent. Proclamation of part 2 and
schedule 1 will occur simultaneously with the making of consequential
amendments to the Adoption of Children Regulation 1999 after passage of
the Act.
PART 2--AMENDMENT OF ADOPTION OF CHILDREN
ACT 1964
Clause 3 provides for the amendment of the Adoption of Children Act
1964 by this part and schedule 1.
Clause 4 amends section 6 by changing the definition of "adoption list",
omitting the definition of "Commonwealth", because it is now defined in
the Acts Interpretation Act 1954, and by providing definitions for new
terms included in the Act.
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
Clause 5 makes a consequential amendment to section 7. As a result of
the establishment of the expression of interest process, references
throughout the Adoption of Children Act 1964 to an "application" need to
be amended to either remove the reference if it is not necessary for the
substantive purpose of the section or to include a reference to an expression
of interest. In this provision, reference to "application" is removed, as it is
not necessary for the provision.
Clause 6 omits section 13A. It inserts a new division heading and new
sections 13A, 13AA, 13AB, 13AC, 13AD, 13AE and 13AF.
Current section 13A sets out how a person who wishes to adopt a child
should make an application and provides that a person who makes an
application is entitled to have their name entered in the adoption list
appropriate to their application. It also requires the person's name to be
removed from the adoption list if the person proves to be ineligible as
prescribed or failed to comply with prescribed procedural requirements.
New section 13A describes some of the purposes of the division. These
purposes include providing a process for persons whose names would be
included in an adoption list to adopt children, a process for persons to
express interest in being assessed as prospective adoptive parents and
processes for assessing the suitability of persons on an adoption list or a
register to become prospective adoptive parents and for deciding about
placements for children.
New section 13AA sets out the application process for persons wishing
to adopt a special needs child or a child who is a relative of the person and
to have their names entered on the Special Needs Children's Adoption List
and the Relative Children's Adoption List. The provision replicates the
current process as set out in current section 13A and remains unchanged
for these persons. Requirements for the giving of notice to persons whose
names are removed from the relevant adoption list have been increased to
comply with contemporary requirements for the giving of notice to persons
about reviewable decisions.
New section 13AB provides a process for the chief executive to invite
persons to express interest in being assessed as prospective adoptive
parents when the chief executive considers it necessary to increase the
number of persons on the expression of interest register in order to meet the
placement needs of children requiring adoptive families,. This provides a
new process for persons who, under the current section 13A, would have
applied to have their names entered on the General Children's Adoption
List or the Foreign Children's Adoption List.
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
New section 13AC entitles a person who makes an expression of interest
in accordance with the previous section to have their name entered on the
expression of interest register. As with the current section 13A, this new
section requires the chief executive to remove a person's name from the
expression of interest register if the person is ineligible as prescribed under
a regulation or does not comply with a requirement prescribed under a
regulation. The eligibility criteria, contained in the Adoption of Children
Regulation 1999, will continue to apply to persons whose names are on the
expression of interest register. Notice requirements for a decision to
remove a person's name from the expression of interest register are also set
out in the section and mirror the requirements in new section 13AA.
New section 13AD sets out the information the chief executive must give
each person who expresses interest in being assessed as suitable to be a
prospective adopter.
New section 13AE replicates the provisions of current section 13B
relating to the requirements on the chief executive in relation to the timing
of assessments of applicants whose names are entered on the Special Needs
Children's Adoption List and the Relative Children's Adoption List.
New section 13AF sets out the matters the chief executive must have
regard to for determining the number of persons the chief executive must
assess in a financial year in order to meet the anticipated placement needs
of children to which the expression of interest register relates in that period.
Clause 7 makes amendments to section 13B to remove the general
requirement to assess persons, other than persons on the Relative
Children's Adoption List, in the chronological order in which they applied.
It also makes amendments that are consequential to the amendments to
section 17 establishing the expression of interest register. It mirrors the
requirements in relation to assessments contained in the current section
13B (other than the general requirement to assess applicants in
chronological order) and applies those requirements to assessments of
persons whose names are included in the expression of interest register.
Clause 8 amends section 13C to require the chief executive, when
making an assessment under section 13B, to have regard to the matters
mentioned in section 12 (which sets out certain requirements for persons in
whose favour adoption orders can be made) and section 13 (which sets out
the age requirements for adopters) as well as the matters prescribed under a
regulation. The assessment criteria set out in the Adoption of Children
Regulation 1999 remains unchanged. It also makes a consequential
amendment to section 13C as a result of amendments to section 17
establishing the expression of interest register and the assessment register.
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
Clause 9 replaces section 13D. The changes are consequential to the
establishment of the expression of interest register and the assessment
register. The new section 13D describes persons in relation to whom a
favourable assessment has been made as "prospective adopters". It
requires the chief executive to make a notation on the relevant adoption list
if the person favourably assessed is on an adoption list (as with the old
section 13D) and, if the person favourably assessed is on the expression of
interest register, to transfer their name to the assessment register. The
clause also inserts new section 13E which enables a person's name to be
removed from the assessment register if, at any time, the person becomes
ineligible as prescribed under a regulation to remain on the register or the
person does not comply with a prescribed requirement. New section 13E
mirrors the current requirements about persons' continued eligibility to
adopt a child contained in current section 13A.
Clause 10 makes consequential amendments to section 14.
Clause 11 makes consequential amendments to section 14B, which
requires applicants and prospective adopters to disclose their criminal
histories if requested by the chief executive. It inserts an additional
requirement for the chief executive to destroy a person's criminal history if
the chief executive considers it is no longer necessary to hold the record for
the purposes of the Act. It should be noted that section 59(4) of the Act
protects this information from unauthorised disclosure.
Clause 12 makes consequential amendments to section 14C.
Clause 13 makes consequential amendments to section 14D. It clarifies
that removal of a person's name from the expression of interest register
under new section 13D(4) where the person has been favourably assessed
and his or her name has been entered on the assessment register is not a
reviewable decision.
Clause 14 replaces the heading of part 3, division 2 to include a
reference to the expression of interest register and the assessment register.
Clause 15 amends section 17. It replaces the heading with a new
heading that includes a reference to the expression of interest register and
the assessment register. It replaces section 17(1) with a new subsection
which requires the chief executive to keep lists of persons entitled to have
their names entered on an adoption list and registers of persons entitled to
have their names entered on the expression of interest register or the
assessment register. Section 17(2) is amended to require adoption lists to
be kept for applicants to become adoptive parents of special needs children
and applicants to become adoptive parents of children who are relatives.
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
Section 17(3) is omitted and a new subsection inserted. The new
subsection requires, for children other than special needs children or
relative children, an expression of interest register and an assessment
register to be kept. The effect of the amended section 17(2) and the new
sections 17(3) and 17(7) is to replace the Foreign Children's Adoption List
and the General Children's Adoption List with the expression of interest
register and the assessment register. Section 17(6) is replaced by new
subsections (5) and (6) to include references to the new registers. The
effect of this subsection, which enables the transfer of adoption
applications from another State or Territory to Queensland, remains the
same.
Clause 16 amends section 18 by replacing the heading, omitting
paragraphs (a) and (b) and inserting a list of matters the chief executive
must have regard to when making arrangements for the adoption of a child
for whom a general consent has been given or dispensed with and who is
not a special needs child. Section 18 currently only applies to children to
whom the General Children's Adoption List relates. The amendment does
not change this. It removes the requirement to generally have regard to the
chronological order of prospective adoptive parents and replaces it with a
more detailed list of matters, relating to the needs and interests of children,
which the chief executive must have regard to when matching a particular
child with prospective adoptive parents.
Clause 17 inserts a new section 18AA to include expressions of interest
within the definition of `application'. This ensures division 2A applies to
expressions of interest as well as applications.
Clause 18 omits section 62 which provides that the making of an
adoption order or the exercise of any power, authority or function conferred
on the Director under the Act by the Deputy Director is sufficient evidence
that the Deputy Director acted in accordance with section 12 of the
Children's Services Act 1965, unless the contrary is proved. This section is
anachronistic and is no longer required. Section 12 of the Children's
Services Act 1965 was repealed in 1987 and replaced by the delegations
provision of the Family Services Act 1987 (section 6). The Public Service
Act 1996 also contains a similar delegations provision. Consequently,
section 62 no longer has any application.
Clause 19 makes a consequential amendment to section 65 to enable
equivalent regulations to be made in relation to the expression of interest
register and the assessment register as with the adoption lists. This will
enable amendments to the Adoption of Children Regulation 1999 to ensure
that the current eligibility and assessment criteria and other requirements
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
contained in the Regulation will apply to persons on the expression of
interest register and the assessment register.
Clause 20 inserts a new division 3 into part 7 of the Act to provide for
transitional arrangements. New section 70 sets out definitions for division
3. New section 71 provides for:
applications by persons to have their names entered on an
·
adoption list to be treated either as applications under new
section 13AA to have their names entered on the Relative
Children's Adoption List or the Special Needs Children Adoption
List or as expressions of interest;
the automatic transfer of the names of persons on the Foreign
·
Children's Adoption List and the General Children's Adoption
List immediately before commencement of the Act, but whose
assessment had not begun, from the lists to the expression of
interest register;
the continuation of assessments begun but not yet completed and
·
the automatic transfer of the names of persons on the Foreign
Children's Adoption List and the General Children's Adoption
List whose assessments have commenced to the expression of
interest register;
the automatic transfer of the names of persons on the Foreign
·
Children's Adoption List and the General Children's Adoption
List whose assessments have been deferred to the expression of
interest register;
the automatic transfer of the names of persons on the Foreign
·
Children's Adoption List and the General Children's Adoption
List to the assessment register if a favourable assessment has
been made about the persons; and
the names of persons on the Special Needs Children's Adoption
·
List and the Relative Children's Adoption List immediately
before commencement to continue to be on those lists.
New section 72 is a transitional provision relating to the assessment of
persons on the Foreign Children's Adoption List at the time of
commencement and whose information is transferred to the expression of
interest register under new section 71(3). These persons are called "prior
applicants" in the section.
Subsection (2)(a) provides that the chief executive must assess only prior
applicants until each of them has been removed from the expression of
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
interest register. However, subsection (3) enables the chief executive to
assess persons on the expression of interest register other than prior
applicants in order to respond to the criteria of the overseas countries. For
example, if the situation arises where there are no prior applicants who
wish to adopt a child from an overseas country with which Queensland has
an agreement to provide files of suitable prospective adoptive parents,
expressions of interest would be invited from persons interested in being
assessed as suitable to be prospective adopters for a child from that country.
Subsection (3) would enable the chief executive to assess persons who
express interest in response to that invitation.
Subsection (2)(b) replicates the requirement in current section 13B(7) to
generally assess those persons in the order in which their names were
included in the List. However, subsection (4) enables the chief executive to
depart from the chronological order for assessments of prior applicants in
certain circumstances. These circumstances are:
When a prior applicant who is due to be assessed agrees to
·
postpone his or her assessment. This exception replicates a
current exception to the chronological order requirement in
current section 13B(7). This means that where a prior applicant
does not wish to proceed with his or her assessment at the
particular time when they are due to be assessed, the chief
executive may continue to assess other prior applicants.
When the chief executive considers it necessary to respond to the
·
placement needs of children in an overseas country because of
the welfare and interests of children of that country. Again, this
replicates a current exception to the chronological order
requirement in current section 13B(7).
When the chief executive considers it necessary in order to
·
respond to the placement needs of children in an overseas
country because of information provided by the other country
about the numbers and characteristics of prospective adopters
required by the country. For example, an overseas country may
advise that they will only place children with prospective
adoptive parents who are under a certain age, or are infertile, or
practice a particular religion or are of the same cultural
background as children from that country or have achieved a
certain educational level. An overseas country may also advise
that it requires a specific number of prospective adoptive parents'
files to be forwarded for consideration by that country.
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
New section 73 is a transitional provision for applications for review of
decisions or assessments under section 14D of the Adoption of Children
Act 1964. The provision continues a person's entitlement to apply for
review, if the person was entitled to do so immediately before
commencement. It provides for the tribunal to continue to deal with
applications for review made before commencement as if the amendment
Act had not commenced. It also applies new section 71 where, as a result
of an application for review made before commencement, the person's
name is not to be removed from the list or a favourable assessment of the
person is made.
New section 74 extinguishes any expectation a person may have had in
relation to the chief executive assessing persons under 13B(1) or in relation
to the chief executive assessing persons in the order in which the names are
included on the Foreign Children's Adoption List or the General Children's
Adoption List, as mentioned in section 13B(7). It also extinguishes any
expectation a person may have had in relation to the chief executive having
regard to the order of the General Children's Adoption List when
determining which prospective adopters the chief executive will approve in
making arrangements with a view to the adoption of a child. The purpose
of this provision is outlined above under the heading `Consistency with
fundamental legislative principles'. The Department considered the
provisions of the Act and did not identify any further existing expectations
that will be affected by the amending Act other than those dealt with in new
sections 71, 72 and 73.
New section 75 continues the entitlement of the chief executive to
request the disclosure of criminal histories from persons whose names are
entered on the registers or lists.
PART 3--AMENDMENT OF OTHER ACTS
Clause 21 provides for the amendment of other Acts as mentioned in
schedule 2.
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
SCHEDULE 1
CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS OF ADOPTION OF
CHILDREN ACT 1964
Schedule 1 makes amendments to sections 16(3), 20(1), 20(3), 25(1),
25(2), 25(2A), 27B(3), 45(1), 46(2), 49, and 59A. These amendments are
minor and make changes consequential to the establishment of the
expression of interest register and the assessment register.
SCHEDULE 2
AMENDMENT OF OTHER ACTS
CHILD CARE ACT 1991
The amendments to the Child Care Act 1991 are minor amendments to
reflect current drafting practice in relation to "approved forms".
Clause1 adds a new definition to the Act, which provides that a reference
to an "approved form" in the Act means a form approved by the chief
executive under section 82B.
Clauses 2,3 and 4 change the terminology of the Act to reflect the new
definition of "approved form".
Clause 5 inserts a new section 82B, which provides that the chief
executive may approve forms for the Act.
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Adoption of Children Amendment Bill 2002
Clause 6 inserts a new section 89, which provides that the chief
executive's purported approval of a form for section 73G before the
commencement of this section is valid and a consent given on the form is
as valid as if it had been given on a form approved under section 82B. The
footnote to this amendment provides how on 9 February 2001, 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 at page 506 on this day.
CHILD PROTECTION ACT 1999
Clause 1 makes an amendment to correct a minor drafting error.
© State of Queensland 2002