pobby

Hi! This is my first post so hope I do it right! Myself and my partner are hoping to try life in Perth next year! we are attending the expo next month to get some more info, though this site is great!
I wonder if anyone has any experience of domestic or international adoption once in Oz? I believe you have to be a resident first but know nothing after that. Any advice would be welcome..
Thanks!

I_Will_Freckle

One person in the partnership has to be an Australian citizen. The other a PR from a country affording the adopted offspring similar rights to those in Australia.

scousercarol

My sil adopted a beautiful little girl from China about 18 months ago. Her and my bil have lived in Australia for about 10 years and are citizens. It was a very lenghy process and cost a lot of money, but all woth it in the end. She has settled in so well and is a joy to everyone,

Carol x

Pomster

Unfortunately adoption regulations vary between states, so you may get a variety of answers.

We were hoping to adopt a little girl from China - managed by Dept of Human Resources here in Vic- but we have had a biological child and that stopped the adoption (biological child has to be 15 months before you can apply to adopt).

there are also a few local adoptions- only about 30 a year.

pobby

thanks for all your replies.. looks like i will have to do a fair bit of homework and have a lot of patience! What a shame that you couldnt adopt Pomster...seems crazy to be turned down cos you already have a child.
Thanks again

Dorothy

I would love to adopt a child, but being in our mid 40's I fear we wouldn't have the energy needed for a toddler. I think adoptive parents for the most part make wonderful caring parents. I know 2 families who's children are adopted and they are the most loved kids ever. Good luck with your goal.

Fly Away

Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear, but sadly there are very few babies available for adoption in Australia. My cousin and her husband - both Australian citizens waited for 12 years (in NSW) after acceptance as suitable, before being matched with a child. They were very lucky to be chosen as they had specified a young child. Their child was 12 months when she came to them. She was in drug withdrawl and still suffers from some physical problems due to being exposed to heroin in the womb. As my cousin is a peadiatric nurse, it was thought a good match. The good news is that she recovered and is living a happy, healthy life with loving parents.

There are of course older children and children from overseas who need loving homes.

Good luck to you - I hope you can find a way to make your dream come true.

Pomster

thanks Pobby- but the biological child was a real surprise- a great one, and although sad we had to out our adoption plans on hold/off - wonderful that we had our unexpected baby.
As Mr P is Asian, we thought we could offer an Asian baby so much- and the thought of those abandoned baby girls makes me cry.
Sometimes I feel guilty that our daughter has so much love and affection and these other poor souls have nothing.

Dorothy- we are both now the wrong side of 40 and our daughter (13 months) forces us to be energetic!

AndyR1976

Hello Pobby,

First, I want to say that I think adoption is a very admirable thing to do - me and my other half have discussed this as an option (we have no kids as yet so discussions are far from serious)..

I know one couple who adopted a little girl from Korea (they are both of white european descent) and another friend who is consisdering adoption at the moment....

The second couple are having difficulty because one of them has been married previously and divorced - so they don't conisder that they are a 'stable family' despite the fact that they have been together for 7-8 years, married for 4, have one child of their own and are millionnaires (not everything, but they could certainly give another child the best of everything)...

I'm wondering whether your UK status would help - could you adopt through the Uk system, even though you live in Australaia etc??

I don't know much abotu it but just wanted to wish you the best of luck

Hope it all goes well and please keep us up to date.

moneypenny20

I just wanted to say, presumably your avatar is of your daughter - what a gorgeous little girl and what a fab photo

No advice or anything because I know sod all about the subject except of course good luck to anyone going down this route. I think you're all brill.

JAJ

Check the website of the relevant agency in the state/territory you wish to reside in, but don't be surprised if you find they are not all that keen on the idea of children being adopted. Hence numbers available for adoption are low.

You will probably also find that at least one parent has to be an Australian citizen.

Princess Leia

Hi there,

We are in the adoption process here in NSW and were allocated a little boy in the Philippines a few months ago and are waiting to travel. Yes, one of you does have to be an Australian citizen to adopt through the Australian system.

I agree with the comments that adoption here is long, lengthy and very frustrating. It also varies with the state you are applying from. Qld seems to get consistently negative reports and I believe that in WA there are lengthy waits to even get on the information seminars. NT and Tasmania seem to be the best of the lot.

I agree with the suggestion that you try and get more information about seeing if you have the option of adopting as UK expats through the UK system. I've heard of American expats living in Australia doing it that way.

Good luck! You need a heck of a lot of stamina but I know quite a few families who have adopted and it has been a very worthwhile venture for them.

CynOpt

Would you consider long term fostering ( I believe they call it "permanent care", or older children?

http://www.office-for-children.vic.g...permanent_care

Might give you some more options.

My Dad's "brother" was fostered into our family, kept his family name, other than that, literally a brother in all but name.

Pomster

Yes that's our little darling- thanks for being so complimentary.

We would love another little child to share our family, but guess that is almost out of the question. We went to Vietnam for a hol (Mr P is of Vietnamese origin) and met some Americans who had adopted 3 girls: Taiwanese, Chinese and Vietnamese. Apparently money speaks volumes in USA...all aids with adoption. Despite Mr P's heritage, we have no chance of adopting an abandoned child in Vietnam.

Princess Leia

Australia is currently working with Vietnam with the view of eventually establishing an adoption program. So this could be an option for you in the future?

Also, for many countries if one parent comes from there originally, their applications are given preference over others and they usually get a placement of a child faster. This is the case with China, Philippines, India etc. It would not surprise me if Vietnam will also have the same preference to place children with parents who are Vietnamese.