VPRS 19480 Court of Petty Sessions, Adoption Case Files, Hamilton

This series comprises records of adoption cases heard at the Court of Petty Sessions in Hamilton Courts (VA 931). 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.

本系列数据集收录了汉密尔顿法院（Hamilton Courts，档案编号VA 931）治安法院（Court of Petty Sessions）审理的收养案件档案。研究人员需注意：部分收养案件最初在某一法院提交，后续转至另一法院（通常为规模更大的区域法院）审理，此类案件往往会进行重新登记，但该操作并无统一规范。

维多利亚州1929年至1958年收养概况
1928年《维多利亚州儿童收养法》（Adoption of Children Act 1928 (Vic)）正式施行，首次以立法形式规范儿童收养行为。该法将收养定义为监护权与父母责任的合法转移，并明确法院拥有作出收养裁定的职权。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（Supreme Court，档案编号VA 2549）、郡法院（County Court，档案编号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。
治安法院可受理位于申请人或儿童居住地附近的收养案件。若满足以下全部主体出具书面同意的条件，该法院即可作出收养裁定：儿童的生父母/监护人、实际照料儿童的主体、有义务为儿童提供抚养支持的主体，或若申请人已婚，则需包括申请人配偶。
若无法获取上述任一主体的书面同意，则需由上级法院审理。若申请人（即拟收养父母）自愿选择，郡法院可在任意情形下作出收养裁定；最高法院同样可在任意情形下作出收养裁定。

维多利亚州1958年至今收养概况
1958年《维多利亚州儿童收养法》（Adoption of Children Act 1958 (Vic)）的通过取消了治安法院作出收养裁定的管辖权。自此之后，郡法院与最高法院拥有收养裁定权，实践中绝大多数收养裁定由郡法院作出，涉及州际及国际收养的案件通常由最高法院处理。
随着1984年《维多利亚州儿童收养法》（Adoption of Children Act 1984 (Vic)）的修订，出生、死亡和婚姻登记处（Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages，BDM，档案编号VA 983）开始尽可能从各法院收集原始档案，以获取足够信息为被收养人制备包含更多细节的“出生证明”。因此，1989年1月1日前由法院保管的所有档案均交由BDM管理与掌控。BDM还可通过此类档案向收养信息服务机构提供收养相关信息。1989年1月1日后产生的档案仍由对应法院保管，因BDM仅可申请获取收养裁定备忘录，而非完整案卷。

档案内容
收养案件档案包含儿童收养、成人收养或替代亲子关系的申请文件，通常涵盖以下材料：
收养裁定书、收养证明书、宣誓证词、儿童出生证明、传票、儿童收养监护人同意书、身份证明文件、声明书、备忘录与往来函件、被收养儿童医疗报告。
若档案未标注收养裁定作出日期，通常意味着该收养裁定未正式签发。

被收养儿童登记册
根据1928年《儿童收养法》第17条第1款及后续相关收养法案的规定，政府统计员需设立并维护被收养儿童登记册（Adopted Children Register，档案编号VPRS 11683），并按照收养裁定的要求完成登记（VPRS 11682）。1929年至1983年间，所有法院需向政府统计员与法务官办公室（Office of the Government Statist and Actuary，档案编号VA 989）通报所作出的收养裁定；1983年起，此项通报职责转由BDM承担。
研究人员需注意：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档案编号并不一致。