VPRS 20777 Court of Petty Sessions, Adoption Case Files, Beaufort

This series comprises records of adoption cases heard at the Court of Petty Sessions at Beaufort Courts (VA 996). See VPRS 20420 for the related adoption register. 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 (VRPS 11683) does not correspond to the case file number assigned by the court.

本档案系列包含博福特简易裁判法院（Court of Petty Sessions，VA 996）审理的收养案件档案。相关收养登记档案可参见VPRS 20420档案系列。研究人员需注意：部分收养案件最初由某一法院受理，后续转至另一法院（通常为规模更大的地区法院）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
1928年《儿童收养法》（Adoption of Children Act 1928 (Vic)）正式生效后，维多利亚州首次通过立法对儿童收养事宜进行规范。该法案将收养界定为监护权与父母责任的合法转移，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。
根据该法案，收养申请可由最高法院（Supreme Court，VA 2549）、郡法院（County Court，VA 686）或简易裁判法院（Court of Petty Sessions）审理。法院的选择取决于案件具体情况与当事人意愿。
收养案件可在距离申请人或儿童住所最近的简易裁判法院审理。若下列多方出具收养书面同意文件，法院即可作出收养裁定：儿童的生父母或监护人、实际照料该儿童的人员、有法定抚养义务的人员；若申请人已婚，则需同时取得申请人配偶的同意。
若无法取得上述任一人员的书面同意，则需交由上级法院审理。若申请人（即拟收养人）自愿选择，郡法院可在任意情形下作出收养裁定。最高法院则可在任意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》（Adoption of Children Act 1958 (Vic)）的颁布，取消了简易裁判法院作出收养裁定的管辖权。自此之后，郡法院与最高法院均拥有作出收养裁定的职权，但实际操作中绝大多数收养裁定由郡法院作出。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《儿童收养法》（Adoption of Children Act 1984 (Vic)）的修订，出生、死亡与婚姻登记署（Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, BDM，VA 983）可在可行范围内从法院获取原始档案，以便收集足够信息为被收养者制备包含更多详细信息的“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管理与保管。BDM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日后生成的档案仍由对应法院负责保管，因BDM仅可申请获取收养裁定备忘录，而非完整档案。

档案内容
收养案件档案涵盖儿童收养、成人收养以及替代亲权三类申请。此类档案通常包含以下材料：
- 收养裁定书、收养证明
- 宣誓书
- 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
若未注明收养裁定日期，通常意味着该收养裁定尚未签发。

被收养儿童登记册
根据1928年《儿童收养法》第17条第1款及后续收养相关法案，政府统计员需设立并维护《被收养儿童登记册》（Adopted Children Register, VPRS 11683），该登记册的条目需按照收养裁定的要求进行录入（VPRS 11682）。自1929年至1983年，所有法院需将作出的收养裁定告知政府统计与法务署（Office of the Government Statist and Actuary, VA 989）；1983年起，则改为告知BDM。
研究人员需注意：中央登记册（VPRS 11683）中记载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。