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Open adoption factsheet (PDF, 249.4 KB)
The NSW Government is committed to the principle of open adoption. Open adoption recognises that there is a benefit for children when they can maintain a relationship with their birth families and when both families (birth and adoptive) remain in contact with each other after an adoption order has been made.
Only one amendment will be made in order to streamline adoption orders. The Supreme Court already has the power to dispense with parental consent to an adoption where the application has been made by an authorised carer. The amendment to the Adoption Act 2000 extends this power to applications by guardians.
The Supreme Court can only dispense with the consent of a birth parent if the child has established a stable relationship with their guardians or authorised carers, the adoption will promote the child’s welfare, and in the case of an Aboriginal child, all other alternatives to adoption have been considered.
Birth parents still have the right to join the adoption proceedings and oppose their child’s adoption.
For Aboriginal children, adoption remains the last resort for permanent placement after all other options have been thoroughly considered. The existing safeguards in relation to the adoption of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 and the Adoption Act 2000 remain unchanged, including:
23 Apr 2024