Future of the Ethiopia–Australian Intercountry Adoption Program
Future of the Ethiopia–Australian Intercountry Adoption Program
The Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP, has decided to lift the suspension of the Ethiopia–Australia intercountry adoption program. The program will recommence accepting new referrals of children in need of intercountry adoption and matching these children with prospective adoptive parents as at 6 April 2010.
The Ethiopia–Australia program was suspended in November 2009 due to concerns that Australia could no longer conduct intercountry adoptions in Ethiopia in a manner consistent with its obligations under the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption.
In January 2010 an Australian delegation travelled to Ethiopia to discuss the current suspension with the Ethiopian Government and to investigate options for the future of the program. The delegation obtained additional information about the requirement for Australia to provide development assistance and how this might be done in a manner consistent with the Hague Convention. The visit also provided the Department with an enhanced understanding of the practical challenges facing the program.
Information gathered during the delegation visit was incorporated into the Department’s formal review of the program, which has been underway since June 2009. The Department received over 400 submissions about the program, which were also considered in the review process.
The Attorney-General has decided to lift the interim suspension on 6 April 2010, subject to progressing appropriate safeguards which will ensure the program’s Hague compliance and ongoing integrity. These changes include:
undertaking additional background checks of children referred to the program
establishing relationships with a limited number of specific orphanages in which the Department has trust and confidence
commencing the process of entering into formal, government-regulated agreements to provide broad development assistance and community sponsorship programs, for projects unrelated to intercountry adoption (similar development assistance funds form part of the fees paid for other programs in a Hague compliant manner), and
setting a formal, fixed, transparent child maintenance fee for payment to orphanages for the reasonable costs of caring for a child (similar fees are charged in a Hague-compliant manner in some of Australia’s other intercountry adoption programs).
In addition, the Department will be working to finalise a new memorandum of understanding with the Ethiopian Government and a new Service Agreement with an Australian representative.
These changes, which have been identified as necessary for the program’s continuation, will also require a restructuring of fees to reflect actual costs and the need to provide development assistance.
The continuation of the program’s suspension until 6 April 2010 will be necessary to ensure adequate safeguards are put in place.
The executive summary of the review is available from the link below. The full document is classified and will not be made public.
Ethiopia Review – Executive Summary – February 2010 [DOC 43KB]
Ethiopia Review – Executive Summary – February 2010 [PDF 34KB]
Applicants affected by the suspension
During the suspension, a number of children who had been referred to the Australian program prior to the suspension were matched with files that were in Ethiopia. These cases will not be affected by the 6 April 2010 timeframe and will continue to be progressed according to usual practice.
Some children referred to the Australian program prior to the suspension have not yet been matched with prospective adoptive families. These children will continue to be matched with files that are already in Ethiopia according to the existing matching guidelines and these cases will not be affected by the 6 April 2010 timeframe.
Other files already in Ethiopia will remain there, and will be matched as new children are referred to the program after 6 April 2010.
During the suspension no approved files were sent to Ethiopia. As at 6 April 2010, Central Authorities may recommence sending approved files to Ethiopia according to the existing quota arrangements (the program allows a quota of 64 files to be in Ethiopia at any one time).
New files will be sent according to the existing priority systems in each State and Territory.
If you are unsure how these arrangements will affect your application, please contact your local State or Territory Central Authority.
Fee increase
The changes identified as necessary for the program’s continuation will require a significant increase in program fees. The Department is still in the process of finalising an exact amount.
All approved applicants will need to pay the new fees. This includes files which have already been sent to Ethiopia and those waiting to be sent.
Applicants who have not yet been approved to adopt will also need to pay the new fees.
The increased fees will cover the cost of the required development assistance projects, the new child maintenance fee, and the administration of the Australian program.
Further information will be provided as soon as possible.
The Department understands that the suspension of the Ethiopian program has been a difficult period for many Australian families. However, the Australian Government must ensure that all of Australia’s intercountry adoption programs are run ethically and in compliance with the Hague Convention. The Department is confident that with some structural and operational changes, the Ethiopia–Australia intercountry adoption program can continue to function efficiently and operate in a manner consistent with the Hague Convention.