Adoption Act 1994

A person may only apply under section 38(1) if at the time of the application, he or she —

subject to subsection (2), is an Australian citizen; and

is 18 or more years of age; and

is resident or domiciled in this State or, if applying to adopt a child in a Convention country, is habitually resident in this State; and

has not been convicted of a Class 1 offence committed after he or she attained 18 years of age; and

if married to another person —

applies as a joint applicant with that person; or

has been separated from that person for at least 12 months and does not intend to resume cohabitation with that person;

is, or in the previous 12 months has been, in a de facto relationship with another person, applies as a joint applicant with that person; and

if applying as a joint applicant —

has been married to, or in a de facto relationship with, the other applicant for at least 3 years; and

is not married to, or in a de facto relationship with, any other person.

Despite subsection (1), a person who applied jointly with another person under section 38(1) may, in accordance with the regulations, continue the application in his or her own name if the joint applicants commence living separately and apart.

Two persons may only apply jointly under section 38(1) if at the time of the application —

both persons are Australian citizens; or

one of the persons is an Australian citizen and the other is a citizen of a country that, in the opinion of the CEO, gives rights to adopted persons that are not inferior to the rights of non‑adopted persons in relation to entry into, residence, education and medical care in that country.

For the purposes of subsection (1)(e)(i) if the joint applicants are married and before the marriage were living as de facto partners, the period of living as de facto partners may be included when calculating the period mentioned in subsection (1)(e)(i).