VPRS 20860 County Court and Court of Petty Sessions, Adoption of Children Register, Swan Hill, Kerang

This series comprises the register of adoption cases heard at the County Court and Court of Petty Sessions at Swan Hill Courts (VA 562). See VPRS 20860 for the related adoption case files. This register also includes selected cases heard at Kerang County Court (VA 5610) 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. 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.

本系列档案涵盖天鹅山法院（Swan Hill Courts）辖下郡法院（County Court）及治安法院（Court of Petty Sessions）所审理的收养案件登记册（案卷编号VA 562）。相关收养案件卷宗可参阅VPRS 20860。本登记册同时收录经吉隆郡法院（Kerang County Court，案卷编号VA 5610）审理的部分案件。需注意，部分收养案件最初在某一法院提交，后续转至通常为更大的区域法院审理，此类案件常需重新登记，但该操作并无统一规范。

1929年至1958年维多利亚州收养制度
儿童收养制度最初由1928年《维多利亚州收养法》（Adoption of Children Act 1928 (Vic)）的施行纳入法律规制范畴。该法将收养确立为监护权与父母责任的合法转移，并将作出收养令的权责赋予法院。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（案卷编号VA 2549）、郡法院（案卷编号VA 686）或治安法院审理。法院的选择取决于案件具体情况及当事人意愿。

收养案件可在距离申请人或儿童住所地最近的治安法院审理。若下列多方出具收养书面同意书，该法院即可作出收养令：儿童的生父母或监护人、实际照料儿童的人员、有义务抚养儿童的人员；若申请人为已婚人士，还需申请人配偶的同意。

若无法取得上述任一主体的书面同意，则需提交更高层级法院审理。若申请人（即拟收养父母）自愿选择，郡法院可在任何情形下作出收养令；最高法院同样可在任何情形下作出收养令。

1958年至今维多利亚州收养制度
1958年《维多利亚州收养法》的施行取消了治安法院作出收养令的管辖权。自此，郡法院与最高法院拥有作出收养令的职权，但实践中绝大多数收养令由郡法院作出。涉及州际及国际收养的案件通常由最高法院审理。

随着1984年《维多利亚州收养法》带来的制度变革，出生、死亡与婚姻登记局（Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, BDM，案卷编号VA 983）尽可能从法院获取原始卷宗，以便为被收养人制备包含更多信息的"birth certificates"收集充分资料。因此，1989年1月1日由法院保管的所有档案均移交出生、死亡与婚姻登记局管理。该局还可通过此类档案为收养信息服务机构提供收养相关信息。

1989年1月1日之后形成的档案仍由各对应管辖法院保管，因出生、死亡与婚姻登记局仅可申请调取收养令备忘录，而非完整案件卷宗。

档案内容
各法院辖区通常分别为治安法院、郡法院及最高法院审理的案件设立专属收养登记册。但法院辖区或法院层级之间常共享登记册，在偏远区域尤为如此。1929年至1958年间，治安法院与郡法院的案件有时采用同一系统登记，郡法院与最高法院的案件亦偶有按顺序统一登记的情况。部分案卷卷册会被复用，用于登记来自不同归档系统或案件序列的档案。

收养登记册通常包含以下信息：案件编号、申请日期、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、其他应诉方（通常为母亲、生父母双方或监护人）姓名、裁判记录及备注。

治安法院审理案件的登记册需由领薪治安法官（Stipendiary Magistrate）或警务治安法官（Police Magistrate）签章确认，郡法院与最高法院审理案件的登记册则由主审法官签章确认。

被收养儿童登记册
根据1928年《收养儿童法》第17条第1款及后续收养相关法案，政府统计员（Government Statist）需设立并维护被收养儿童登记册（Adopted Children Register，案卷编号VPRS 11683），并按照收养令（案卷编号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令通报给政府统计与法务办公室（Office of the Government Statist and Actuary，案卷编号VA 989）；1983年起则通报给出生、死亡与婚姻登记局。需注意，中央登记册（VPRS 11683）中的被收养儿童登记编号与法院分配的案件卷宗编号并不对应。