Juvenile justice is the system of dealing with crimes committed by children and minors through courts, probation and detention programmes. As early as the 1840s it was recognised that young offenders should receive different treatment to adults. The first colonial laws to tackle children’s criminal behaviour were passed in the 1860s. Since this time, the…
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare defines adoption as “The legal process by which a person legally becomes a child of the adoptive parent(s) and legally ceases to be a child of his/her existing parent(s)”. In Australia, each state or territory has its own adoption legislation and its own policies and processes. In the…
Youth Migration to Australia comprised young people (post-primary school age, usually ranging from 14 to 20 years old), who had made their own decision to migrate to Australia, often to work in rural areas. They commonly came to Australia as assisted migrants, subsidised by colonial, state or Commonwealth governments. Non-government organisations were also involved in…
Child Migration to Australia refers to children who were sent to Australia unaccompanied by their parents, and who had no family ties or contacts in Australia. Child migrants were generally aged between 7 and 14, although some were younger, and were sent to Australia from Britain and Malta under formal child immigration schemes. Although some…
The Bringing them home report (1997) found that informal and formal foster care arrangements and holiday placements supposedly for a temporary period, were frequently the beginning of a permanent separation of Aboriginal children from their family and community. The Victorian resource guide Finding your story states that: ‘Whilst the informal placement of Indigenous children with…
Law in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) needs to be understood in light of the history of the territory’s governance. The ACT became a self-governing territory in 1989. Before 1989, laws in the ACT were made by federal (Commonwealth) Acts, or by Ordinances made by the Governor-General. From 1989, the ACT Legislative Assembly has been…
Adoption is the legal process which transfers the legal rights and responsibilities of being a parent from a child’s birth parents to adoptive parents. The Adoption of Children Ordinance 1938 regulated adoption in the ACT for the first time. The 1938 Ordinance was repealed by the Adoption of Children Ordinance 1965 which marked a distinct…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
