Adoption Act 1993

This section applies to an order for the adoption of a person that was made (whether before or after the commencement of this section) in a country outside Australia if, when the legal steps that resulted in the adoption were commenced, the adoptive parent or parents—

had been resident in a country outside Australia for 1 year or more; or

were domiciled in a country outside Australia.

An order for the adoption of a person to which this section applies has the same effect as an adoption order made under this Act if—

the adoption is in accordance with and has not been rescinded under the law of the country outside Australia where the adoption order was made; and

in consequence of the adoption, the adoptive parent or parents, under the law of that country, have a right superior to that of the adopted person’s birth parents in relation to the care of the adopted person; and

under the law of that country, the adoptive parent or parents were, because of the adoption, placed generally in relation to the adopted person in the position of a parent or parents.

Despite subsection (2), a court (including a court dealing with an application under section 57M) may refuse to recognise an adoption under this section if it appears to the court that the procedure followed, or the law applied, in connection with the adoption involved a denial of natural justice or did not comply with the requirements of substantial justice.

A court that refuses to recognise an adoption may, when refusing or later, give leave to the applicant to seek an order for the adoption of the person concerned.

In any proceeding before a court (including a proceeding under section 57M), it is to be presumed unless the contrary appears from the evidence, that an order for the adoption of a person that was made in a country outside Australia complies with subsection (1).

This section does not affect any right that was acquired by, or became vested in, a person before the commencement of this section.