VPRS 19613 County Court Adoption of Children Register, Morwell

This series comprises the register of adoption cases heard at the Morwell County Court, including a case that was referred to the Sale Supreme Court. Also included are the registrations of Guardianship case files. See VPRS 19328 for the related adoption and guardianship case files. 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 Court districts commonly maintained a specific adoption register for cases held at Court of Petty Sessions, County Court, and Supreme Court respectively. However, registers were often shared between court districts or levels of court, particularly in remote regional areas. Between 1929 and 1958, Court of Petty Sessions and County Court cases were sometimes registered using the same system, likewise County Court and Supreme Court cases were also occasionally registered in sequence. Sometimes, a single volume was used or repurposed to register cases from different recordkeeping systems or case file sequences. Adoption registers generally contain the following details: Case number Date of application Names, ages, and occupations of couples applying Name, sex, and age of child Names of other respondents (usually mother or both parents, or guardian) Minute of decision and remarks Cases were authenticated in the registers by the Stipendiary Magistrate or Police Magistrate for cases heard at the Court of Petty Sessions, or the presiding judge for cases heard at the County Court and Supreme Court. Guardianship This series was also used to register guardianship cases. A guardianship order is a legal document that gives a person (called a ‘guardian’) power to make decisions on behalf of another person about personal matters. This may include decisions about where the person lives, their health care and access to services. In some cases, there may be more than one guardian (called ‘joint guardians’). It is unknown as to why these guardianship orders were registered alongside adoption case files. 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 does not correspond to the case file number assigned by the court.

本数据集收录莫尔韦尔县法院审理的收养案件登记册，其中包含1件移送至瑟尔最高法院的案件，同时收录监护案件文件的登记项。相关收养与监护案卷可查阅VPRS 19328。研究人员需注意：部分收养案件最初由某一法院受理，后移送至另一法院（通常为规模更大的地区法院）审理，此类案件常会进行重新登记，但该做法并无统一规范。

1929年至1958年维多利亚州收养制度
1928年《儿童收养法》（维多利亚州，Vic）正式施行后，儿童收养首次被纳入法律规制范畴。该法确立收养为监护权与亲权的合法移转，并将作出收养裁定的职权赋予法院。在此之前，收养多为私人育婴机构主导的非正式安排。
根据该法，收养申请可由最高法院（VA 2549）、县法院（VA 686）或治安法院审理。法院的选择取决于案件具体情况与当事人意愿。
收养案件可由距离收养申请人或儿童住所地最近的治安法院审理。若以下主体就收养事宜出具书面同意，法院即可作出收养裁定：儿童的生父母或监护人；实际照料儿童的主体；有义务抚养儿童的主体；若收养申请人已婚，则包括申请人的配偶。
若无法取得上述任一主体的书面同意，则需由上级法院审理。若潜在收养人提出申请，县法院可在任何情形下作出收养裁定；最高法院则可在任何情形下作出收养裁定。

1958年至今维多利亚州收养制度
1958年《儿童收养法》（Vic）的颁布废除了治安法院作出收养裁定的管辖权。自此之后，县法院与最高法院均拥有作出收养裁定的职权，但实践中绝大多数收养裁定由县法院作出。涉及州际及跨国收养的案件通常由最高法院审理。
随着1984年《儿童收养法》（Vic）的修订，出生、死亡与婚姻登记处（BDM）（VA 983）尽可能从法院获取原始案卷，以便收集足够信息，为被收养人制作包含更多细节的"出生证明"。因此，1989年1月1日由法院保管的所有案卷均交由BDM管理与保管。BDM还可通过上述案卷为收养信息服务机构提供收养相关信息。
1989年1月1日之后形成的案卷仍由对应法院保管，因BDM仅可申请获取收养裁定备忘录，而非完整案卷。

案卷内容
各司法辖区通常分别为治安法院、县法院及最高法院审理的案件设立专属收养登记册。但各司法辖区或不同层级法院之间常共享登记册，偏远地区尤为如此。1929年至1958年间，治安法院与县法院的案件有时采用同一登记系统，县法院与最高法院的案件亦偶尔按序列统一登记。有时会使用单卷档案或对其重新用途，以登记来自不同存档系统或案卷序列的案件。
收养登记册通常包含以下信息：
- 案件编号
- 申请日期
- 收养申请人夫妇的姓名、年龄与职业
- 被收养儿童的姓名、性别与年龄
- 其他被申请人（通常为母亲、父母双方或监护人）
- 裁定摘要与备注
治安法院审理的案件，由领薪治安法官或警务治安法官在登记册中签章确认；县法院与最高法院审理的案件，则由主审法官签章确认。

监护案件
本数据集同时收录监护案件的登记项。监护裁定是一份法律文书，赋予"监护人"代表他人就其人身事务作出决定的权力，此类事务包括决定被监护人的居所、医疗保健及服务获取方式。部分案件中可能存在多名监护人（即"共同监护人"）。目前尚未明确为何将监护裁定与收养案件案卷一并登记。

被收养儿童登记册
根据1928年《儿童收养法》第17条第1款及后续收养相关法律，政府统计师需设立并维护被收养儿童登记册（VPRS 11683），并根据收养裁定（VPRS 11682）的要求进行登记。1929年至1983年间，所有法院需将作出的收养裁定通报给政府统计师与精算师办公室（VA 989）；1983年起，则通报给BDM。
研究人员需注意：中央登记册中的被收养儿童登记编号，与法院分配的案卷编号并不一致。