The Department for Child Protection is the only agency in South Australia that can organise an adoption.
Adopting a locally born child is a 4 step process and obtaining approval as a prospective adoptive parent may take up to 2 years from the time you first express an interest in applying.
The process for adopting a child born overseas is different.
There is no guarantee a child will be placed with you due to the small numbers of children placed for adoption in South Australia.
If you are considering adopting a child born in South Australia refer to the following documents first:
- Adopting an Australian-born child (PDF, 416.4 KB)
- Local adoption – four stage process (PDF, 649.9 KB).
Eligibility
To be eligible to adopt a locally born child, you must meet all of the following criteria. These requirements are set out in the Adoption Act 1988 and Adoption (General) Regulations 2018.
- You must be a resident of South Australia and living here.
- You must be a permanent resident of Australia.
- You must be an Australian citizen, and in the case of joint applicants, at least one of the applicants must be an Australian citizen.
- You cannot be registered as a prospective adoptive parent if you had a previous registration that was cancelled on the grounds that it was improperly obtained.
- You cannot be registered if a child has, at any time, been removed from your care and become the subject of an order made under child protection legislation.
- You cannot be registered if you have been convicted of an offence involving:
- violence towards a child
- abuse of a child
- abduction of a child.
Local adoption process
There are 4 stages in the local adoption process including:
- initial screening and expression of interest
- education, application and assessment
- allocation and placement
- after the adoption order.
Fees and additional information
The following fees relate to adopting a local child in South Australia. These fees are current at 1 July 2023.
First application | Subsequent application | |
---|---|---|
Lodging expression of interest | $668 | $430 |
Upon application | $881 | $485 |
Assessment fee | $859 | $435 |
Upon placement | $427 | $427 |
Adult adoption
See the adult adoption booklet (PDF, 294.1 KB) for more information about adult adoption.