The Infant Life Protection Act, with the full title "An Act to Make Better Provision for the Protection of Infant Life, and for other purposes" (Act no.5 Edw.VII No.19) arranged for the registration of nursing homes for children under 3 years of age, the reporting of the births and deaths of illegitimate children and for their adoption. Such children had no inheritance rights in their adoptive family. The Police Department administered this Act until 1918. In 1921 the Act was amended to provide for the legal adoption of children under 10 years of age, but the adopted children gained no status or protection. The act was amended in 1905 and commenced on the 1st of January 1906. The act was repealed on the Children's Services Act (Act no.42/1965) 1965 which commenced on the 1st of August 1966.
Hannah Wilson was appointed in 1906 as first Inspector under the Infant Life Protection Act 1905. Eveline Smith was appointed Inspector under the Infant Life Protection Act 1905 in 1908. She resigned in 1909 and was succeeded by Jessie Bouchard.
1905 - 1966 Infant Life Protection Act 1905
1965 - 2000 Children's Services Act 1965
1992 - Juvenile Justice Act 1992
1999 - Child Protection Act 1999
Sources used to compile this entry: To Remove and Protect: laws that changed Aboriginal lives, Queensland Legislation, 2009, http://aiatsis.gov.au/collections/collections-online/digitised-collections/remove-and-protect/queensland; Department of Families, Missing pieces: information to assist former residents of children's institutions to access records, State of Queensland, 2001. p.102.; Law Research Service, Melbourne Law School, Law Library, The University of Melbourne. 'Find and Connect Project - Queensland Legislation', 4 April 2013, held in the project files at the University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre.
Prepared by: Lee Butterworth
Created: 4 May 2011, Last modified: 16 November 2016
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/qld/biogs/QE00012b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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