VPRS 19745 Interstate Adoption Reciprocal Agreements

This series comprises documentation received by the Protonotary of the Supreme Court of Victoria relating to agreements made by the Crown Law Department (VA 2825) with the governments of New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia, and South Australia that constitute the reciprocal adoption agreements made under the Adoption of Children Amending Act 1942. This Act authorised the transmission of copies of adoption orders to or from Victoria concerning children either born or adopted in Victoria. Included in the documentation is correspondence between Victoria and other state authorities regarding the agreements as well as copies of the final agreement. Interstate Adoption in Australia Prior to the 1940s, varying adoption law between each state and territory prevented adoption between states to be legally recognised. Rules of inheritance varied significantly between jurisdictions, especially when it related to parents or family members who resided interstate. These agreements represent the first steps toward model adoption legislation. In allowing adoption orders to be communicated between states, court orders made by any jurisdiction could be legally recognised by the respective state agency responsible for the registration of births and administration of adoptions. The first such agreement occurred between the Commonwealth (ACT) and Western Australia in 1940 and support for similar agreements between other states by the Prime Minister spurred state governments to enact their own legislative amendments. In Victoria, the Adoption of Children Amending Act of 1942 allowed for the transmission of adoption orders under reciprocal agreements, and the first of such agreements was signed in 1943.