Adopt a child from overseas

Adoption Victoria works in partnership with Intercountry Adoption Australia to support overseas adoption programs.

The Hague Convention says that adoption between countries:

must always be in the best interests of the child
should only occur when there are no appropriate adoptive families available in the child’s country of birth.

One of the reasons that adoption from overseas has decreased over time is that partner countries have turned to adoptive families available in their country.

Types of adoption from overseas

There are two types of adoption from overseas:

The information below relates to both types of adoption. Please read this information careful before proceeding onto further information about the specific type of overseas adoption.

Eligibility

To be eligible to adopt a child from overseas, adoptive families in Victoria must meet 2 sets of eligibility requirements.

These are:

the requirements of the adoption program of the child’s country of birth
the legal requirements within Victoria.

You can read more about each of these below.

Overseas country eligibility requirements

Each overseas country program has its own set of eligibility requirements for adoptive families.

These can include limitations around:

age
health issues
finances
family composition
fertility
education, religion and cultural background.

Some overseas countries programs do not accept applications from:

single applicants
couples in same-sex relationships.

You will find comprehensive information on overseas country eligibility requirements on the Intercountry Adoption Australia website.

Victorian eligibility requirements

You do not need any special qualifications to be an adoptive parent. The experiences and skills of all families are welcome.

In Victoria, you can apply if you are an adult and normally live in Victoria.

You can apply if you are:

currently married or living in a de facto relationship for at least two years or
a single person.

Couples include same-sex and gender diverse couples.

The Adoption Act 1984 does place restrictions on when the court can grant an adoption to single people. This can affect which children a single person can be matched to.

It is important to remember that for overseas adoption, applicants must meet both Victorian eligibility requirements and the country program requirements.

Australian citizenship requirements

Victorian law requires that if the child you are adopting is not automatically an Australian citizen, you must be an Australian citizen. If you are applying as a couple, then at least one person must be an Australian citizen.

Some overseas countries also have a requirement as part of their adoption programs that at least one applicant must be an Australian citizen.

Costs

If you are applying to adopt a child from overseas, you may be required to pay fees to the overseas partner country.

You can find more information for fees that apply to each partner country on the Partner countries page of the Intercountry Adoption Australia website.

Overseas Country Programs

In 2004-2005 434 children were adopted by Australians through overseas adoption programs. This number has steadily been declining and in 2019-2020 only 29 children were adopted across Australia. Today the number placement of children though overseas adoption programs is comparatively rare.

Active Overseas Country Programs

Intercountry adoptions are arranged in partnership with the Commonwealth Department of Social Services (DSS) under a Commonwealth-State Agreement for the continued operation of Australia’s Intercountry Adoption Program. Details of this agreement can be found on the Department of Social Services website.

Under this agreement, DSS is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with overseas programs as well as to consider the ‘Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperating in Respect of Intercountry Adoption’ (the Hague Convention) when assessing any overseas adoption program.

The Hague Convention entered into force in Australia in 1998 and aims to protect children and their families from trafficking, illegal and ill-prepared adoptions. Under clause 16 of the CSA, DSS provides states with regular reports confirming partner country’s compliance with the requirements of the Hague Convention.

Currently the Commonwealth Department of Social Services (DSS) have confirmed that the following country programs meet their compliance requirements

Thailand
Colombia
South Korea
Taiwan
Chile
Poland
Latvia
Hong Kong
Bulgaria
China
South Africa
Sri Lanka

Non-Active Overseas Country Programs

In Australia, the Department of Social Services (DSS) holds primary responsibility for the management and establishment of Australia's intercountry adoption programs. Adoption Victoria works in partnership with DSS to facilitate adoptions primarily with active country programs.

Adoption Victoria does not accept applications to adopt an unknown child from countries that do not have an active intercountry adoption program with Victoria (Non-Active Country Programs).

This includes the India country program and adoptions completed under the Hindu Adoptions Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA).

Adoption Victoria aims to find families for children who are unable to be placed with a permanent family placement in their country of origin. These children tend to be aged at least 5 years and above with a range of additional medical and health needs.

The overseas programs that Australia has an active partnership with have been found to meet legal and ethical standards and are generally part of a broader child welfare reform in their country. The role of Adoption Victoria is to ensure that those applying to adopt children through these programs meet the requirements for adoption, both under Victorian and overseas country requirements.

Adoption Victoria sends application files to active overseas country programs only when these countries have either requested or have on-going capacity to accept files. An updated list of countries for which Adoption Victoria is currently seeking applications can be found on the Adoption Victoria Information Kit.

India country program

Australia is reactivating the India-Australia intercountry adoption program using a staged approach. Currently, there are two jurisdictions – Queensland and Northern Territory (NT) who are assessing a small number of suitable applicants to adopt from India.

The other state and territory governments, including Victoria, will consider key learnings from this stage before determining our involvement in future stages of reactivation.

Adoption Victoria is not accepting applications to adopt a child from India.

The Australian Central Authority is in the process of determining its position on the incorporation of HAMA adoptions to India’s intercountry adoption process. Adoption Victoria is unable to assist with enquiries about these adoptions until further notification from the Australian Central Authority.

How to adopt from overseas

Adoption Victoria - information kit
PDF 1.15 MB

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Adoption Victoria - expression of interest fact sheet
PDF 195.82 KB

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Learn about adoption and the application process in Victoria by reading our website, the expression of interest fact sheet and information kit.
Watch the information session
You can watch this recorded information session for further information.
You can register your interest to adopt a child by completing the Adoption Victoria questionnaire.

Adoption Victoria - questionnaire
Word 245.94 KB

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This questionnaire covers a range of questions aimed at identifying your:
- interest
- capacity
- knowledge
- understanding of the needs of children who may require adoption.
It addresses both adoption from within Victoria or by overseas partner programs for intercountry adoption.
To register:
1. read the above information kit and expression of interest fact sheet to understand the details of Victorian requirements for adoption
2. complete the questionnaire
3. send it to adoptionsvic@justice.vic.gov.au.
Before submitting your registration of interest, please check you meet the Victorian requirements.
Once we receive the completed document, we will send you an electronic receipt.
A worker is then allocated to review and decide on the eligibility and suitability of the family.
Before being assessed as suitable to adopt, you will need to attend education and complete a detailed application.
The application includes but is not limited to:
- police checks
- medical checks
- working-with-children and child protection checks
- financial statements
- references
- a life story to provide background information.
You will also be required to attend education sessions. These sessions will help you understand the adoption process and prepare you for the challenges of bringing an adopted child into your family.
A case manager will meet with you to prepare an assessment report.
We assess your application against requirements outlined in the Adoption Act 1984 and Adoption Regulations 2019 and take into consideration the needs of children requiring adoption.
We also assess your application against requirements of the overseas country. This may include:
- physical and psychological health medical reports
- criminal, traffic, family violence and child protection history checks.
Assessment requirements will include home visits to speak with:
- you
- your children
- other adult household members
- your nominated referees.
More information about the assessment is available in the Adoption Victoria Information Kit.
If your family is approved, your file is ready to be sent to the overseas program. Usually it is sent immediately, but sometimes the overseas program will require the file to be held until they are ready to accept it.
It is rare that a family is matched with a child very soon after the family is approved to adopt. Usually, approved families continue to work with Adoption Victoria after approval. They prepare for the challenges of bringing an adopted child into their family. Many families develop capacity to provide for a wider variety of children during this time.

You can find information on Australia’s intercountry adoption programs on the Intercountry Adoption Australia website.

Adopt a child you know from overseas

Adopting a child that is your relative or that you know that is living overseas or through an overseas partner program.

Adopt a child from an overseas program

The number placement of children though overseas adoption programs is comparatively rare.

Updated 4 December 2024