The intercountry adoption system in australia

Intercountry adoption in Australia is conducted according to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption.

The Attorney-General's Department is the Australian Central Authority under the Hague Convention. We are responsible for managing Australia’s intercountry adoption arrangements, and related policy issues.

Australian State and Territory departments assess people’s suitability and eligibility to adopt children and manage the adoption application process. We work closely with these departments.

In Australia, people who want to adopt children must apply to their State or Territory Central Authority. The Central Authority assesses their application and decides whether to send their file to an overseas authority for matching with a suitable child.

Intercountry adoptions generally only take place from countries with which we have an established intercountry adoption program. Information about these countries can be found on the Country programs page.

To find out more about the intercountry adoption system in Australia please visit the links below:

• History of intercountry adoption in Australia
• The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption
• Roles of the Australian, State and Territory governments
• Intercountry Adoption Strategic Plan
• Overseas Adoption in Australia Report
• Legislation and publications
• Intercountry adoption statistics