The Adoption (Review) Amendment Act 2016 was passed in the South Australian Parliament in December 2016. Significant changes to the veto system and how adoption information is provided came into effect on 18 December 2017. See the changes to vetoes page for more information about the changes, and what they might mean for you.

Once an adopted person is 18 years of age or over, an application for provision of adoption information can be made on the Provision of adoption information form (PDF, 187.6 KB) or in writing, specifying that the request is made pursuant to the Adoption Act 1988.

Applications can be made by:

  • an adopted person
  • an adoptive parent
  • a birth parent

or

  • where the adopted person is deceased or cannot be located - a lineal descendant (eg a son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter etc) of an adopted person
  • where the birth parents consent, or are deceased or cannot be located - a person who would have been a relative of the adopted person if the adoption order had not been made. 'Relative' is defined in section 4 of the Adoption Act.

Identification requirements apply.

You will need to send your completed form and any additional documents to:

The FOI Team
Department for Child Protection
GPO Box 1072
Adelaide SA 5001

You can also email the department at DCP.FOI@sa.gov.au.

The Provision of adoption information and the exercise of the Chief Executive's discretion under section 27(5) of the Adoption Act guideline (PDF, 345.6 KB) details how to make a request, the application process and the reasons the department may withhold access to a document or certain information.

Access to pre-adoption birth certificates

The Department for Child Protection can authorise the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages to issue pre-adoption birth certificates. See s41(4) of the Adoption Act.

The information from our records may be of a particularly sensitive nature and it is important that you are supported when receiving this information.

Relationships Australia SA provides Post Adoption Support Services (PASS) to people accessing their departmental records. PASS can be contacted on (08) 8245 8100 to access counselling or other supports you may require.

The following resources have been created to assist people affected by adoption.

Departmental records

For information about DCP systems, records and databases, see the departmental records fact sheet (PDF, 423.7 KB). It provides an overview of DCP’s systems previously and currently used to record information.

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act 1991 provides a person with a legally enforceable right to access government records subject to the exemption provisions within the FOI Act. See Accessing information and FOI for more details.

Provision of information to care leavers

Section 153 of the Children and Young People (Safety) Act 2017 implements a recommendation of the Child Protection Systems Royal Commission report 'The Life They Deserve' enabling care leavers to access, free of charge, original and copy documents relating to them, instead of having to apply for access under the Freedom of Information Act.

See Provision of information to care leavers for more details.

Contact

Freedom of Information Team
Department for Child Protection
GPO Box 1072
Adelaide SA 5001

Phone: 8226 4399
Email: DCP.FOI@sa.gov.au

Related links

Placing a child for adoption

Adopting a local child

Changes to vetoes