The Adoption of Children Amendment Act, 1973 (Act no. 049 of 1973) commenced on 1 March 1974. The Amendment made three changes that the Department for Community Welfare (DCW) had sought. The amendments removed some of the flexibility to revoke consent to adopt, to further protect the interests of people who were adopting children. This…
The Adoption of Children Amendment Act 1949 (Act no. 1949/022 (13 Geo. VI No.108)) became law on 22 October 1949. It made the birth entry registration of an adopted child (and therefore a new birth certificate) automatic. It also made changes to the requirement that children over the age of 12 years had to give…
The Adoption of Children Act Amendment Act 1971 ( Act no. 024 of 1971) came into operation on 1 July 1972. The Adoption of Children Act Amendment Act included a number of changes to the Act and the Rules: A new section stated that the ‘welfare and interest of the child shall be regarded as…
The Parliament of Western Australia formally apologised for the ‘Removal of Children from Unmarried Mothers’ in 2010. It was the first Australian parliament to do so. The Parliament, on behalf of previous governments, apologised to ‘the mothers, their children and the families who were adversely affected by these past adoption practices’. The apology was heard…
The Adoption of Children Act Amendment Act 1945 (Act no. 1945/031 (9 & 10 Geo. VI No.31)) commenced on 30 January 1946. The amendments came into force on 30 January 1946 and amended Rules operated from 24 October 1930. The Adoption of Children Act Amendment Act restricted access to the original birth certificate of adopted…
The Adoption of Children Act Amendment Act 1926 (Act no. 057 of 1926 (17 Geo. V No. 57)) further increased adoption secrecy by enabling a new birth certificate to be issued upon adoption. Previously, the ‘fact’ of the adoption was obvious on the child’s amended birth certificate because the details of the birth parents had…
The Adoption of Children Act Amendment Act 1921 (1921/009 (12 Geo. V No.9)) commenced on 8 November 1921. It made the adopted child’s birth surname secret. In the original Act of 1896 the adopted child’s legal name included both the surname that was registered at the time of their birth (their ‘proper name’) and the…
Adoption Jigsaw provides information and services to people who have been involved in adoption. The organisation was founded in 1978 ‘for the purpose of lobbying for legislative change and more openness in adoption.’ Since 1979, Adoption Jigsaw has had a confidential ‘Contact Register’ for people wishing to make contact with other parties to the adoption…
The Adoption of Children Amendment Act 1985 (Act 1985/108) which came into effect on 24 October 1986, had a number of significant developments, relating to the registration of private adoption agencies, and access to adoption information. The Adoption of Children Amendment Act 1985 provided that: ‘Private adoption agencies’ could register and arrange adoptions under the…
The Adoption of Children Act Amendment Act 1964 (1964/100) made a number of changes to ‘modernise’ the Adoption of Children Act 1896, and bring it more into line with adoption legislation in other States. WA was the only jurisdiction to not pass new model legislation in the 1960s, although the amendments in 1964 significantly modernised…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
