VPRS 11833 Court of Petty Sessions, Adoption Case Files, Sunshine

This series comprises records of adoption cases heard at the Court of Petty Sessions at Sunshine Courts (VA 4100). See VPRS 11663 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.

本系列档案收录了阳光法庭（Sunshine Courts，VA 4100）治安法院（Court of Petty Sessions）审理的收养案件记录。相关收养登记册可查阅VPRS 11663。
研究人员需注意，部分收养案件最初向某一法院提交，后续转至另一法院（通常为规模更大的区域法院）审理。此类案件常需重新登记，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，儿童收养首次被纳入立法监管范畴。该法案将收养定义为监护权与父母责任的合法转移，并明确法院享有收养裁判权。在此之前，收养多为私人育婴机构主导的非正式安排。
根据该法案，收养申请可由最高法院（Supreme Court，VA 2549）、郡法院（County Court，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。
收养案件可在距申请人或子女住所地最近的治安法院审理。若以下多方均出具书面同意书，该法院即可作出收养裁定：子女的生父母或监护人、拥有子女监护权的人员、有义务抚养子女的人员；若申请人为已婚人士，则还需申请人配偶的同意。
若无法取得上述任一主体的书面同意，则需诉诸更高等级的法院。若申请人（即潜在养父母）自愿，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，取消了治安法院作出收养裁定的管辖权。自此之后，郡法院与最高法院享有收养裁定权，但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、死亡和婚姻登记局（Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, BDM，VA 983）从各法院尽可能获取原始案卷，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。档案通常包含以下材料：
- 收养裁定书、收养证明书
- 宣誓书
- 子女出生证明
- 传票
- 子女收养监护人同意书
- 身份证明文件
- 声明书
- 备忘录与往来函件
- 被收养子女的医疗报告
若未注明收养裁定日期，通常表明该收养裁定尚未签发。

收养儿童登记簿
根据1928年《儿童收养法》第17条第1款及后续收养法案的规定，政府统计员需设立并维护收养儿童登记簿（Adopted Children Register，VPRS 11683），并按照收养裁定（VPRS 11682）的要求进行登记。1929年至1983年，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，VA 989）通报作出的收养裁定；1983年起，此项通报职责转由BDM承担。
研究人员需注意：中央登记簿（VPRS 11683）中的收养儿童登记编号与法院分配的案件档案编号并不一致。