Adoption Applications Committee
A committee of experts that meet monthly to consider applicant assessment reports. The committee makes a decision about the applicants suitability to adopt.
Adoption Order
An Order made by the Family Court of Western Australia or the overseas country that transfers legal guardianship of the child to the adoptive parents.
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Parents who have been granted an Adoption Order by the Family Court. They become the guardians of a birth parent’s child.
Adoption Plan
An agreement between the birth parents and the adoptive parents that explains the information that will be exchanged about the child’s development and the extent of contact that will occur between the birth parents and the child. Registered with the Family Court of Western Australia.
Adoption Service
The section within the Department for Child Protection that has the legal authority to administer the Western Australian Adoption Act 1994. This includes managing relinquishment issues, assisting people who want to apply to adopt, arranging adoptions within Western Australia and overseas, and handling requests for someone’s adoption information and making contact.
Applicant
A person who is in the process of applying to be considered suitable for adoptive parenthood. Someone is an applicant up until the decision of the Adoption Applications Committee decision.
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Adoption Assessment Report
A report that an assessor has written based on interviews with the applicants, referee reports, medical and police checks. This report is submitted to the Adoption Applications Committee.
Allocation
With intercountry adoption a formal offer of a relinquished child to the prospective adoptive parent(s). The prospective adoptive parent(s) decide whether to accept the allocation of the child. With a local adoption following a matching process involving the relinquishing parents an offer of a child will be made to prospective adoptive parents.
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Birth parent
The parents that conceived the child. Sometimes referred to as the relinquishing parents.
Cooling off period
The period in which the birth parents can change their mind about having their child adopted. Also referred to as the revocation period.
Consent
A legal process in which the birth parents freely give their permission for their child to be adopted.
Consent Order
An order usually related to the legal status, care, guardianship or residence of a child granted by the Family Court where the parties agree to the terms of the order. The Court issues the Order without examination in Court because both sides are in agreement.
Contact Register
Is a service for people who wish to register their interest in contact with parties to an adoption. For example, a birth mother may register that she is willing to have contact with her birth child (adoptee). If the adoptee also registers then Past Adoption Services will make the match.
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Hague Convention
This is an international convention signed at the Hague. The ‘Hague Convention’ is the short title that is used for the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The Australian Federal Government has signed the convention, as have many other countries. It is law that sets procedures for intercountry adoptions and forms part of the Adoption Act 1994. It aims to minimise the abduction, sale and trafficking of children.
Homestudy
A package of documents that provides an overview of the applicant’s circumstances. It is used by the overseas adoption agency to be able to match a child according to their parenting needs. The package includes the adoption assessment report.
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Intercountry adoption
Adoption of a child from overseas to a couple or individual who have been approved for adoption.
Legally adoptable child
Adoption is a legal process. A child is either relinquished legally for adoption or it is decided by a Court or State that the child is to be adopted. Overseas countries must determine that a child is legally adoptable and that proper consents have been obtained or dispensed with.
Local adoption
Adoption of an Australian child to a couple or individual who have been approved for adoption.
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Mediator
A person who has been licensed by Adoption Service as a Contact and Mediation Licensee. This means they are authorised to act on your behalf to contact another party to an adoption. It is illegal for someone to contact another party to an adoption on your behalf if they are not licensed unless recorded in an Adoption Plan. You may have heard the Family Court refer to mediators but this is for the purpose of resolving disputes.
Open adoption
This means that the identities of the three main parties to an adoption are known to each other and therefore the adoption is considered to be ‘open’. The three parties are the adoptive parents, the adoptee (child / adult) and the birth parents. For intercountry adoption the birth parents are not usually known however reports on the child’s progress are sent to the overseas country.
Overseas country
The country that allocates legally adoptable children. Also referred to as the ‘sending country’ or ‘State of origin’.
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Past Adoption Service
The section within Adoption Service that assists people who have been involved in an adoption to; obtain information, pass on information and make contact.
Parenting Order
A parenting order is made by the Family Court and there are four types;
Residence - an Order to say with whom the children live
Contact - an Order to say with whom the children will have contact
Child maintenance - an Order that provides for financial support of children
Specific issues - an Order about any other aspect of parental responsibility. Eg. Day to day care, welfare and development (guardianship)
Parent profile
A written statement prepared by the prospective adoptive parents and Adoption Service that lists characteristics and attributes. Eg age, family composition, ethnicity, income, level of preferred information exchange and contact, etc . It is used to assist the relinquishing parent choose an adoptive family for their birth child, or the overseas country with placements.
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Placement
The time when the child is officially placed by Adoption Service into the care of the prospective adoptive parents. This is after the child has been allocated.
Prospective Adoptive Parent
An applicant who has been approved by the Adoption Applications Committee as suitable for adoptive parenthood but has not yet been granted an Adoption Order by the Family Court.
Relinquishing parents
The parents who have conceived the child. Also referred to as the birthparents.
Revocation
The time allowed for the birth parents to reconsider their decision to relinquish their child for adoption. See 'Cooling-off period'.
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