VPRS 19485 Court of Petty Sessions, Adoption Case Files, Maldon

This series comprises records of adoption cases heard at the Court of Petty Sessions at Maldon Courts (VA 4198). Researchers should note that in some instances, adoption cases were lodged at one court and then later heard at another, usually at a larger regional court. Often, these cases were re-registered, but this practice does not appear to be consistent. Adoption in Victoria 1929 – 1958 The adoption of children was first regulated by legislation with the commencement of the Adoption of Children Act 1928 (Vic). This Act established adoption as a legal transfer of custody and parental responsibility and gave responsibility for making adoption orders to the courts. Prior to this time, adoptions were informal arrangements often made by private infants’ homes. Under the Act, an adoption application could be heard by the Supreme Court (VA 2549), County Court (VA 686), or Court of Petty Sessions. The choice of court depended upon the circumstances of the case and the wishes of the parties. Adoption cases could be heard at the Court of Petty Sessions closest to where either the applicant(s) or the child resided. The Court could grant an adoption order if several parties gave their written consent to the adoption, namely; the child’s natural parent(s) or guardian(s); the person having custody of the child; any person liable to contribute to the support of the child; or where the applicant was married, the applicant’s spouse. If the consent of any of these persons could not be obtained in writing, a higher court had to be used. Should the applicant(s) (i.e., the prospective adoptive parent(s)) choose, the County Court could grant an adoption order in any circumstance. The Supreme Court could grant an adoption order in any circumstance. Adoption in Victoria 1958 - present The passing of the Adoption of Children Act 1958 (Vic) removed the jurisdiction of the Court of Petty Sessions to grant adoption orders. Since that time the County and Supreme Courts have had the power to grant adoption orders, although in practice most have been granted by the County Court. Cases involving interstate and international adoptions are generally handled by the Supreme Court. With the changes brought about by the Adoption of Children Act 1984 (Vic), the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) (VA 983) obtained the original court records, wherever possible, from the Courts to enable them to obtain sufficient information to prepare "birth certificates" containing more information for adopted persons. All records in custody of the courts as of 1 January 1989 therefore came under the management and control of BDM. BDM also provides adoption information to Adoption Information Services from these records. Any records created after that date are still the responsibility of the respective Court as BDM are only able to request a memorandum of the adoption order, rather than the complete file. Contents Adoption case files include applications for child adoptions, adult adoptions, or substituted parentage. The files generally contain: Adoption orders Adoption certificates Affidavits Birth certificate of child Summonses Guardian's consent for child to be adopted Identification documents Declarations Memoranda and correspondence Medical reports of the adopted child Where no date of adoption order is given, this is generally indicative of the adoption order not being issued. Adopted Children Register Under section 17 (1) of the Adoption of Children Act 1928 and the subsequent adoption acts, the Government Statist was required to establish and maintain an Adopted Children Register (VPRS 11683) in which entries were made as directed by adoption orders (VPRS 11682). All courts were required to inform the Office of the Government Statist and Actuary (VA 989) of adoption orders granted from 1929 to 1983, then BDM from 1983 onwards. Researchers should note that the Adopted Children Registration Number given in the central register (VPRS 11683) does not correspond to the case file number assigned by the court.

本系列包含马尔登法院（VA 4198）小额诉讼法院（Court of Petty Sessions）审理的收养案件记录。研究人员需注意，部分收养案件最初在某一法院提交，后转至另一法院审理（通常为较大的地区法院）。此类案件常被重新登记，但该做法并不统一。

维多利亚州1929-1958年的收养制度
1928年《儿童收养法》（维多利亚州）的生效首次以立法形式规范了儿童收养行为。该法案将收养确立为监护权与父母责任的合法转移方式，并赋予法院作出收养令的职权。在此之前，收养多为私人婴儿院主导的非正式安排。

根据该法案，收养申请可由最高法院（Supreme Court，VA 2549）、郡法院（County Court，VA 686）或小额诉讼法院审理。法院的选择取决于案件情况及当事人意愿。

维多利亚州1958年至今的收养制度
1958年《儿童收养法》（维多利亚州）的通过剥夺了小额诉讼法院作出收养令的管辖权。此后，郡法院与最高法院均有权作出收养令，但实践中多数案件由郡法院审理。州际及国际收养案件通常由最高法院处理。

随着1984年《儿童收养法》（维多利亚州）的修订，出生、死亡及婚姻登记处（Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages，BDM，VA 983）尽可能从各法院获取原始案卷，以便收集足够信息，为被收养人制备包含更多内容的“出生证明”。因此，截至1989年1月1日，法院保管的所有记录均由BDM接管管理。BDM还通过这些记录向收养信息服务机构提供收养相关信息。1989年1月1日后生成的记录仍由各法院负责，因BDM仅可申请收养令备忘录，而非完整案卷。

内容
收养案卷包括儿童收养、成人收养或替代亲子关系的申请。案卷通常包含：
- 收养令
- 收养证明
- 宣誓书
- 儿童出生证明
- 传票
- 监护人同意儿童被收养的文件
- 身份证明文件
- 声明书
- 备忘录及函件
- 被收养儿童的医疗报告

若未标注收养令日期，通常表明该收养令未被签发。

被收养儿童登记册
根据1928年《儿童收养法》第17条第1款及后续收养法案，政府统计员（Government Statist）需建立并维护被收养儿童登记册（VPRS 11683），并根据收养令（VPRS 11682）的指示进行登记。1929年至1983年间，所有法院需向政府统计与精算办公室（Office of the Government Statist and Actuary，VA 989）通报已签发的收养令；1983年起，则需通报BDM。研究人员需注意，中央登记册（VPRS 11683）中的被收养儿童登记号与法院分配的案卷号并不对应。