VPRS 8585 County Court and Court of Petty Sessions, Adoption of Children Register, Benalla

This series comprises records of adoption cases heard at the Court of Petty Sessions and County Court of Benalla. 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 does not correspond to the case file number assigned by the court.

本系列数据集收录了本纳拉简易裁判法院（Court of Petty Sessions）与本纳拉郡法院（County Court）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，后续转至另一法院（通常为规模更大的区域法院）审理，且此类案件常被重新登记，但该操作并无统一规范。

维多利亚州1929年—1958年收养制度
1928年《维多利亚州儿童收养法》（Adoption of Children Act 1928 (Vic)）正式施行，儿童收养首次纳入立法监管。该法将收养确立为监护权与父母责任的合法移转，并将收养令的审批权限赋予法院。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（档案编号VA 2549）、郡法院（档案编号VA 686）或简易裁判法院审理。法院的选择取决于案件具体情况与当事人意愿。
简易裁判法院可受理位于申请人或子女住所地附近的收养案件。若满足以下多方书面同意条件，该法院可作出收养令：子女的生父母/监护人、持有子女监护权者、有义务抚养子女者；若申请人为已婚人士，还需其配偶出具同意书。
若无法取得上述任一主体的书面同意，则需诉诸更高等级法院。若拟收养父母选择，郡法院可在任何情形下作出收养令；最高法院亦有权在任何情形下作出收养令。

维多利亚州1958年至今收养制度
1958年《维多利亚州儿童收养法》（Adoption of Children Act 1958 (Vic)）的通过，取消了简易裁判法院作出收养令的管辖权。自此，郡法院与最高法院拥有收养令审批权，实际操作中绝大多数收养令由郡法院作出。涉及跨州及跨国收养的案件通常由最高法院审理。
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、死亡与婚姻登记处（Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, BDM，档案编号VA 983）从各法院获取原始案卷（在可行范围内），以收集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日由各法院保管的所有案卷，均移交登记处管理与掌控。登记处还可通过此类案卷向收养信息服务机构提供收养相关信息。
1989年1月1日之后产生的案卷仍由对应法院保管，因登记处仅可申请获取收养令的备忘录，而非完整案卷。

案卷内容
各法院辖区通常分别为简易裁判法院、郡法院及最高法院的收养案件设立专属登记册。但不同法院辖区或不同等级法院之间常共享登记册，在偏远区域尤为如此。1929年至1958年间，简易裁判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尔按序列统一登记。有时，单一卷册会被用于或重新用于登记来自不同档案管理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、申请人夫妇的姓名、年龄与职业、子女的姓名、性别与年龄、其他应诉方（通常为生母、父母双方或监护人）、判决摘要与备注。
简易裁判法院审理的案件需由领薪裁判官（Stipendiary Magistrate）或警务裁判官（Police Magistrate）在登记册中认证；郡法院与最高法院审理的案件则由主审法官认证。

被收养儿童登记册
根据1928年《维多利亚州儿童收养法》第17条第1款及后续收养相关法案，政府统计官需设立并维护被收养儿童登记册（Adopted Children Register, VPRS 11683），并按照收养令（VPRS 11682）的要求进行登记。1929年至1983年间，所有法院需向政府统计与精算署办公室（Office of the Government Statist and Actuary, VA 989）通报作出的收养令；1983年起，则改向出生、死亡与婚姻登记处通报。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。