Country Programs
Note: Important Information on Eligibility Criteria
There are a number of eligibility criteria that prospective adoptive parents must meet. This includes the criteria in their State or Territory of residence, as well as the criteria of the country from which they wish to adopt a child. These criteria vary between States and Territories and between countries.
The Current Intercountry Adoption Programs page provides information on the current country programs available to prospective adoptive applicants in Australia.
For more information, please follow the link to the country you are interested in and contact your State or Territory authority. Australia has adoption arrangements with a number of countries. Australia maintains programs with countries that are party to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption and also has bilateral arrangements with some countries which are not party to the Convention.
In the past, intercountry adoption programs have been established and managed by the individual States or Territories which have an arrangement with a particular country. One State or Territory would then take on ‘lead state’ responsibility for managing the program. The Australian Government, through the Attorney-General's Department, now has primary responsibility for the management and establishment of Australia’s intercountry adoption programs.
The Department has developed an Intercountry Adoption Strategic Plan 2008 with one of the aims being to ensure that opportunities for new programs are identified and explored in a timely and efficient manner.
See the Investigations into possible new programs page for more information on the Department's work in this area.
Note on Ad Hoc Requests
As a general principle, individual requests to countries, with which there is no established program, will not be consistent with a strategic approach to Australia's management of intercountry adoption programs. Managing ad hoc requests involves the commitment of significant resources from Governments, which could divert effort from the establishment of broader, more accessible, programs that are likely to better provide for the best interests of children in those countries.
Further information on the Government’s approach to ad hoc requests is outlined in the Intercountry Adoption Strategic Plan 2008.