VPRS 19441 Court of Petty Sessions Adoption of Children Register, Box Hill

This series comprises the register of adoption cases heard at the Court of Petty Sessions at Box Hill. See VPRS 11841 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.

本系列档案收录博克斯希尔治安法院（Court of Petty Sessions）审理的收养案件登记册。相关收养案件卷宗请查阅VPRS 11841。研究人员请注意：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。

维多利亚州1929–1958年收养制度
1928年《维多利亚州收养儿童法》（Adoption of Children Act 1928 (Vic)）正式施行后，儿童收养首次被纳入法律规制框架。该法将收养定义为监护权与父母责任的合法转移，并明确由法院负责作出收养裁定。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（VA 2549）、县法院（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。
治安法院可在申请人或儿童住所地附近的辖区开庭审理收养案件。若以下主体均出具书面同意文件，法院即可作出收养裁定：儿童的生父母或监护人、实际照料儿童的主体、有义务抚养儿童的主体；若申请人为已婚人士，则还需申请人配偶出具同意书。
若无法获取上述任一主体的书面同意，则需提交上级法院审理。若申请人（即拟收养父母）自愿选择，县法院可在任何情形下作出收养裁定；最高法院同样可在任何情形下作出收养裁定。

维多利亚州1958年至今收养制度
1958年《维多利亚州收养儿童法》（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，仅县法院与最高法院有权作出收养裁定，实际操作中绝大多数收养裁定由县法院作出。涉及跨州及国际收养的案件，通常由最高法院审理。
随着1984年《维多利亚州收养儿童法》（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, 简称BDM, VA 983）开始从各法院调取原始卷宗，以便为被收养人制备包含更多信息的“出生证明”。因此，1989年1月1日前由各法院保管的所有档案，均移交BDM管理与管控。BDM还可通过该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书副本，而非完整卷宗。

档案内容
各法院辖区通常分别为治安法院、县法院及最高法院的收养案件设立专属登记册。但在偏远地区，不同法院辖区或不同层级法院常共享登记册。1929年至1958年间，治安法院与县法院的案件有时采用同一登记系统，县法院与最高法院的案件亦偶有连续编号登记的情况。部分登记册甚至被单独或重新用于跨不同档案管理系统或案件编号序列的案件登记。
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、被收养儿童的姓名、性别与年龄、其他当事人（通常为生母、父母双方或监护人）姓名、裁定摘要及备注。
治安法院审理的案件，由领薪裁判官或治安法官完成登记认证；县法院及最高法院审理的案件，则由主审法官完成认证。

被收养人登记册
根据1928年《收养儿童法》第17条第1款及后续相关收养法案的要求，政府统计官需设立并维护被收养人登记册（Adopted Children Register, VPRS 11683），登记内容需依照收养裁定书（VPRS 11682）的指示录入。1929年至1983年，所有法院需将作出的收养裁定通知政府统计官与法务官办公室（VA 989）；1983年起，该通知义务转由BDM承担。
研究人员请注意：中央登记册（VPRS 11683）中的被收养人登记编号，与法院分配的案件卷宗编号并不一致。