PRESS RELEASE

 

Thursday, 5 May 2016: For immediate release

 

 

Today, the Children’s Rights Alliance welcomed the publication of the Adoption (Amendment) Bill 2016. The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Adoption Act 2010 to give effect to the Children’s Referendum. 

 

Tanya Ward, Chief Executive of the Alliance, said today: “This legislation has been long overdue. There are hundreds of children in long-term foster care that could not be adopted before the change to our Constitution following the Children’s Referendum. Now this Adoption (Amendment) Bill will remove these obstacles, if the adoption is in their best interests. 

 

Adoption provides security to children and families and for far too long, our laws have been out of step with modern family life. This legislation also deals with the bizarre situation where lone parents who marry must adopt their own child if their new husband/wife wishes to adopt that child. Under this Bill, the parent will continue to be ‎a parent and the step parent will be an adoptive parent.”