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.

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.

If you are not eligible for the Intercountry Adoption Program, you may be eligible for the permanent care program.

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.

Learn more about adopting a child you know from overseas.

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.

Families being sought

The characteristics of families being sought for the adoption of children from overseas is determined by the overseas program.

They usually include the following characteristics.

1. Readiness to adopt

You are capable of receiving a child in your home.

Making sure you are ready to adopt means considering the needs of any children already in your family, especially infants. It also means considering plans you may have for fertility treatment, surrogacy or pregnancy.

Children who require adoption often have additional needs that need to be supported.

2. Capability to parent children with a range of additional needs

Children who require adoption often have additional needs that need to be supported.

These include:

ongoing contact with their natural family
disability or significant health issues
vulnerability to developing health issues later in their childhood
complex backgrounds
developmental trauma and,
a culturally or linguistically diverse background.

3. Commitment to open adoption

Open adoption supports ongoing contact between an adopted person and their birth and adoptive families.

When a child is adopted from overseas it is less common for children to have direct contact with birth family, though this does sometimes occur.

Open adoption recognises the benefit for children to retain a close connection to their culture and be supported have access to information about their history.

An open attitude to adoption gives children the opportunity to talk about their life story and birth family. It helps them to value and accept their own history and experience.

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.

How to adopt from overseas

Adoption Victoria - information kit
PDF 900.14 KB

(opens in a new window)

Adoption Victoria - expression of interest fact sheet
PDF 195.82 KB

(opens in a new window)

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

(opens in a new window)

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.

More information about the adoption process

Age limit

There is no age limit to apply to adopt, but you should be fit and healthy enough to care for a child through to adulthood.

For intercountry adoption, the overseas country programs set their own requirements relating to the age of applicants.

Applying to adopt locally and overseas

You can be approved to adopt locally and from overseas at the same time.

If you are approved to adopt from overseas

All people who are approved to adopt from an overseas partner country are also approved to adopt a child placed for adoption in Victoria. Once you are approved to adopt you can nominate whether you want to also be considered for a Victorian child.

If you are approved to adopt locally

If you are approved to adopt a Victorian child, and meet the overseas country program eligibility, you can later apply to adopt from overseas. If you were approved by an approved adoption agency, we will seek your consent to access all information about any assessment and training you have undertaken. Generally, this will inform the process for approving you to adopt.

Please note that even if you are already approved to adopt a Victorian child, you will need to pay all fees associated with intercountry adoption.

Applying to be a permanent carer

You can seek to be approved as a permanent carer first through any of the permanent care programs.

If you later apply to adopt, we will seek your consent to access all information about any assessment and training you have undertaken to be approved as a permanent carer. Generally, this will inform the process for approving you to adopt.

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.

Hindu Adoptions Maintenance Act (HAMA) adoptions

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.

Learn more about adopting a child from overseas

You can find information on Australia’s intercountry adoption programs on the Intercountry Adoption Australia website.
The Australian Government provides a variety of different pathways for children to come to Australia either temporarily or permanently. You can explore visa options and learn about child migration on the Department of Home Affairs website.
You can seek further advice about child migration from a registered migration agent. Please visit the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority.

Updated 16 April 2024