Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Adoption Act 1984 - SECT 4

Definitions

4. Definitions



(1) In this Act, unless inconsistent with the context or subject-matter-

Aborigine means a person who-

   (a)  is descended from an Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander;

   (b)  identifies as an Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander; and

   (c)  is accepted as an Aborigine or Torres Strait Islander by an Aboriginal
        or Torres Strait Island community;

accredited body means a body accredited under section 69O as an accredited
body for the purposes of the Hague Convention;

adoption compliance certificate means a certificate issued in accordance with
article 23 of the Hague Convention;



adoption order means an order for the adoption of a child under this Act;

approved agency means a welfare organization approved by the Secretary under
Division 2 of Part II;

approved counsellor means a person who is for the time being approved as a
counsellor under section 5;

Central Authority means a person or office designated for a Convention country
under article 6 of the Hague Convention;

child means a person who has not attained the age of 18 years or a person who
has attained that age in respect of whom an adoption order is sought or has
been made;

Commonwealth Central Authority has the same meaning as in the Family Law
(Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption) Regulations 1998 of the
Commonwealth1;

Convention country means, subject to article 45 of the Hague Convention-

   (a)  a country specified in column 2 in Schedule 2 to the Family Law (Hague
        Convention on Intercountry Adoption) Regulations 1998 of the
        Commonwealth2; and

   (b)  any other country for which the Convention has entered into force3,
        other than-

   (i)  Australia; and

   (ii) a country against whose accession Australia has raised an objection
        under article 44 of the Convention;

de facto relationship means the relationship of a man and a woman who are
living together as husband and wife on a genuine domestic basis, although not
married to each other;

de facto spouse means-

   (a)  in relation to a man who is living with a woman in a de facto
        relationship, the woman with whom he is living in that de facto
        relationship;

   (b)  in relation to a woman who is living with a man in a de facto
        relationship, the man with whom she is living in that de facto
        relationship;

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disposition of property includes the grant or exercise of a power of
appointment in respect of property;

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guardian in relation to a child, includes a person who is or is deemed to be
the guardian of the child, to the exclusion of, or in addition to, any parent
or other guardian, under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory;

Hague Convention means the Convention on Protection of Children and
Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption signed at The Hague on 29 May
1993, a copy of the English text of which is set out in Schedule 1;

interim order means an interim order under Division 4 of Part III; legal
practitioner means an Australian legal practitioner within the meaning of the
Legal Profession Act 2004;



non-citizen child has the same meaning as in the
Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 of the Commonwealth as amended
and in force for the time being;

Registrar means the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages appointed under
section 5 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1996;



relative, in relation to a child, means a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle
or aunt of the child, whether the relationship is of the whole blood or
half-blood or by affinity, and notwithstanding that the relationship depends
upon the adoption of any person;

Secretary means the Secretary to the Department of Human Services;

State Central Authority has the meaning given in section 69K;



Territory means Territory of the Commonwealth.

(1A) If under the Public Administration Act 2004 the name of the Department of
Human Services is changed, a reference in the definition of Secretary in
subsection (1) to that Department must, from the date when the name is
changed, be treated as a reference to the Department by its new name.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, where a period of time is expressed to begin
on, or to be reckoned from, a particular day, that day shall not be included
in the period.

(3) Where an office that is established by any Act is referred to in this Act
and the holder of that office has power to assign or delegate to another
person all or any of his powers and functions under that Act-

   (a)  the powers and functions of the holder of that office that may be so
        assigned or delegated shall be deemed to include the powers and
        functions of that office under this Act, and any of those powers and
        functions under this Act may be assigned or delegated in the manner
        provided by that Act; and

   (b)  in relation to a power or function so assigned or delegated a
        reference in this Act to the holder of that office shall be read as
        including a reference to the assignee or delegate, as the case may be.





(4) In this Act, a reference to the principal officer of an approved agency
includes a reference to the deputy principal officer (if any) or a person who
is authorized in writing by the principal officer to exercise or perform the
powers and functions of the principal officer under this Act.

(5) If a man or woman living in a de facto relationship is also married, a
reference in this Act (except section 55) to a spouse of such a man or woman
(as the case requires) does not include a reference to the spouse to whom the
man or woman is married.

(6) A reference in this Act to a spouse includes a reference to a man or woman
referred to in section 11(1)(a) or (b).