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Adopt a child from overseas

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

The Hague Convention says that adoption between countries:

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:

  1. the requirements of the adoption program of the child’s country of birth
  2. 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:

Some overseas countries programs do not accept applications from:

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:

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 (CSA). 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.

In Australia all intercountry adoptions (including relative and known non-relative adoptions) must comply with the standards and principles of the Hague Convention. The Hague Convention is an international treaty that guards against illegal, irregular, premature or ill-prepared adoptions abroad and aims to ensure intercountry adoptions occur in the best interests of the child.

Under clause 16 of the CSA, DSS provides states with regular reports considering partner country’s compliance with the requirements of the Hague Convention. If Adoption Services Victoria (ASV) has not received a report from DSS confirming partner country’s compliance with the requirements of the Hague Convention within the past 2 years or if ASV is not satisfied that the report provides sufficient assurance that the country program meets the requirements of the Hague Convention, ASV will not consider applications to adopt from that program.

Currently, ASV will consider applications to adopt from the following partner countries:

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

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  1. 1Consider the overseas programs

Each overseas program has different requirements of applicants, profiles of children, fees and processes.

You can find out more about each program from Intercountry Adoption Australia. In order to adopt from these programs, you need to be approved by Adoption Victoria and your application will then be sent to that program.

  1. 2Learn about the program

Learn about adoption and the application process in Victoria by reading our website and information kit.

  1. 3Register your interest

You can register your interest to adopt a child by completing the Adoption Victoria questionnaire.

Adoption Victoria - questionnaire for Intercountry Adoption Only Word 245.55 KB (opens in a new window)

This questionnaire covers a range of questions aimed at identifying your:

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.

  1. 4Invitation to apply

Overseas programs do not continuously accept applications to adopt.

When we receive your application, we will consider when the overseas country is likely to be accepting applications as well as the profile of children in that country for whom families are being sought.

  1. 5Application and education

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:

  1. 6Assessment

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:

  1. 7Approval

Approval is a formal process under the Adoption Act 1984.

The Act requires that approved people are placed on a register. This register is used to match families with children requiring adoption.

  1. 8Working with Adoption Victoria

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 16 December 2025

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