Discharge of adoption

A person may apply to the County Court of Victoria to undo the legal effect of an adoption order. This is known as a ‘discharge of adoption'.

If the Court makes an order to discharge an adoption:

the adoption ceases to exist and
the person is no longer an adopted person or legally connected to the family that adopted them. They become legally reconnected to their birth family.

Grounds for an adoption to be discharged

An adoption may be discharged if the Court finds that the adoption application was improperly obtained or if special circumstances exist.

Examples of a special circumstance include, but are not limited to the breakdown of the relationship between the adoptive parents, birth parents or the adopted child/adult or restoration of an individual’s birth identity.

In addition:

the discharge must promote the welfare and interests of the adopted child/adult
the consent of all parties is not required to discharge an adoption
there is no time limitation in applying for a discharge of adoption.

Eligibility to apply to discharge an adoption order

Persons eligible to apply to the Court to discharge an adoption order include:

the adopted child/adult (must be over the age of 18)
the child/adult's natural parent
the child/adult's adoptive parents
Secretary of the department or the principal officer of the approved agency by which the adoption was arranged.

How to apply

The information contained on this page is not legal advice. It is recommended that the person considering applying for the discharge of an adoption order seeks independent legal advice and/or representation. You may wish to access the Law Institute of Victoria's 'Find Your Lawyer Referral Service'(opens in a new window).

Before applying to discharge an adoption:

consider what it will mean for your legal relationships, financial circumstances and inheritance rights
decide whether to seek legal representation or apply to the Court yourself.

Eligible persons may apply to the Court to discharge an adoption order. Section 5 of the County Court’s Adoptions, Surrogacy and Name Changes List Practice Note guides the process of submitting an application. The applicant must file with the Court:
- Summons Form 11
- an affidavit in support of the application.
There is a fee involved with submitting an application to the Court, however eligible applicants are able to apply for a fee waiver if they are facing financial hardship, or under other relevant circumstances.
Relevant application forms, fee waiver guides and contact details are available from the Court’s website(opens in a new window).
What if the person was adopted from another country?
If the adopted person was adopted from another country and the adoption order was made in Victoria, an application for a discharge of the adoption order can be filed in Victoria.
Anything that lawfully occurred as a result of the adoption, such as obtaining Australian citizenship, should not be affected by the adoption order being discharged.
Unless the Court otherwise orders, the applicant must serve the documents filed with the Court on the adoptive parents and/or the adopted child/adult. Generally, the application is made by the adopted child/adult. This means that the application must be served on the adoptive parents.
The other parties to the adoption may oppose the application for the discharge of an adoption order. In such cases the application may proceed to a contested hearing in the Court.
If the applicant has a special reason not to make the adoptive parents aware of the application, this should be included in their affidavit.
If the application is not contested, there will be no hearing. A judge in chambers will consider the material filed in support of the application and determine whether to make the discharge of adoption order.
The Court shall not make an order for the discharge of an adoption order unless the Court is satisfied that the welfare and interests of the adopted person would be promoted by the discharge of the adoption order.
The Court may make ancillary orders restoring, amending or correcting the adopted person’s name, birth records and birth certificate and direct Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria to amend the Register.
If the adoption order is discharged, this means the birth parents will once again become your legal parents, and the adoptive parents will cease to be your legal parents.
After the application is granted, the person who had been adopted may then apply directly to Births, Deaths and Marriages for a new birth certificate.
For enquiries, including fees and processing times, please refer to the Births, Deaths and Marriages website(opens in a new window) or call 1300 194 757 (within Australia).

Updated 19 October 2023

Discharge of adoption

On this page

Grounds for an adoption to be discharged

Eligibility to apply to discharge an adoption order

How to apply