VPRS 21004 County Court, Adoption of Children Register, Korumburra, Wonthaggi

This series comprises the register of adoption cases heard at the County Court at Korumburra Courts (VA 2568). Also included are Korumburra County Court cases that were heard in Wonthaggi. See VPRS 201003 for the related adoption case files. 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.

本系列档案收录了科伦布拉（Korumburra）郡法院（County Court at Korumburra Courts，档案编号VA 2568）审理的收养案件登记册，同时涵盖在万塔吉（Wonthaggi）开庭审理的科伦布拉郡法院收养案件。相关收养案件档案可查阅VPRS 201003。

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（通常为规模更大的地区法院）审理，此类案件常会进行重新登记，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)）正式施行后，儿童收养首次被纳入法律监管框架。该法将收养定义为监护权与父母责任的合法转移，并将收养令的审批权授予法院。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（Supreme Court，档案编号VA 2549）、郡法院（档案编号VA 686）或治安法院（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。
治安法院可在申请人或儿童居住地附近的辖区开庭审理收养案件。若以下多方均出具书面同意文件，法院即可下达收养令：儿童的生父母或监护人、持有儿童监护权的人员、有义务抚养儿童的人员；若申请人已婚，还需包括申请人的配偶。
若无法获取上述任一主体的书面同意，则需提交更高一级法院审理。若申请人（即潜在养父母）自愿选择，郡法院可在任意情形下下达收养令；最高法院同样可在任意情形下下达收养令。

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)）的通过取消了治安法院的收养令审批管辖权。自此，郡法院与最高法院拥有收养令审批权，但实践中绝大多数收养令由郡法院下达，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、死亡和婚姻登记处（Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages，BDM）开始从各法院调取原始案卷，以便为收养人准备包含更详细信息的"出生证明"。因此，1989年1月1日由法院保管的所有档案均交由BDM管理与管控。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日之后产生的档案仍由对应法院保管，因BDM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治安法院、郡法院及最高法院的收养案件设立专属登记册，但不同辖区或不同层级的法院常会共享登记册，在偏远地区尤为如此。1929年至1958年间，治安法院与郡法院的案件有时会使用同一系统登记，郡法院与最高法院的案件亦偶尔会按连续序列登记。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、儿童的姓名、性别与年龄、其他被申请人（通常为母亲、生父母双方或监护人）、判决摘要及备注。
治安法院审理的案件需由治安法官（Stipendiary Magistrate）或警务法官（Police Magistrate）在登记册中签章认证，郡法院与最高法院审理的案件则由主审法官签章认证。

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的规定，政府统计官需设立并维护收养儿童登记册（Adopted Children Register，档案编号VPRS 11683），并根据收养令（档案编号VPRS 11682）进行登记。
1929年至1983年间，所有法院均需将下达的收养令告知政府统计与法务办公室（Office of the Government Statist and Actuary，档案编号VA 989）；1983年起，则需告知BDM。研究人员需注意，中央登记册（VPRS 11683）中的收养儿童登记编号与法院分配的案卷编号并不对应。