Past adoption practices
Adoption practice has changed in the past forty years. Find out more about past adoption practices.
Birth Certificates
When an Adoption Order is made, a new birth certificate is issued. This is the post adoption birth certificate. It shows the adoptive parents as the parents of the child. It becomes the child’s legal birth certificate.
Adopted people have the same access to their legal birth certificates as non-adopted people. If you were adopted in Victoria, you can apply for your legal, post-adoption birth certificate through the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria.
Adopted people and natural parents can also apply for the child’s original birth certificate. Learn more about about applying for an original birth certificate.
Adoption information
Many people affected by adoption find it beneficial to seek the records that were created at the time of the adoption. Adoption information may be sought from Adoption Services. Learn more about applying for adoption information.
Searching for natural family
Sometimes people affected by adoption seek the original birth certificate and adoption records. These documents may help them locate family from whom they have been separated by the adoption.
Learn more about searching for family.
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 ‘discharge of adoption'.
If the Court makes an order to discharge an adoption:
- the adoption ceases to exist
- 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. Learn more about discharge of adoption.
Support for people affected by past adoption
The effects of past adoption practices, including the trauma of forced adoption, can last a lifetime. Counselling, mental health services and advocacy resources are designed to offer practical and emotional support to those who need it most. Find out more about supports available here.
Training resources for professionals and community service organisations
- Working with Loss and Trauma Related to Past and Forced Adoption Practices
Provider: VANISH - Understanding forced adoption: Training for GPs registered with AHPRA
Provider: Australian Psychological Society - Understanding forced adoption: Training for psychologists
Provider: Australian Psychological Society
Learn more about the Parliamentary Inquiry into responses to historical forced adoption in Victoria
On 10 March 2022, the Victorian Government tabled its response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into responses to historical forced adoption in Victoria.
The response can be viewed on the Parliament of Victoria website. You can find updates about the progress of implementation here.
You can also view the Inquiry’s report, tabled in Parliament on 8 September 2021.
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