INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION CENTRAL AUTHORITIES MEETING

INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION

CENTRAL AUTHORITIES’ MEETING

18–19 May 2010

Communiqué to CEOs

The Commonwealth, State and Territory Central Authorities for Intercountry Adoption held their biannual meeting in Canberra on 18–19 May 2010. A representative from the New Zealand Central Authority also attended. Officers from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, along with a representative from the National Intercountry Adoption Advisory Group (NICAAG) attended some sessions of the meeting. Separately, on 17 May 2010, all Australian Central Authorities participated in meetings and a formal lunch with a visiting delegation from China.

Central Authority reports

Commonwealth, State and Territory Central Authorities, and the New Zealand Central Authority provided reports on key intercountry adoption issues in each jurisdiction and adoption services more generally. Discussions focused on increasing timeframes for families before receiving an adoption proposal, the decreasing number of intercountry adoption placements, the changing nature of children in need of intercountry adoption, and ensuring accurate information is provided to families about the realities of intercountry adoption.

Current country programs and reviews

AGD provided reports on the status of Australia’s existing intercountry adoption programs. Discussions included matters arising from the Chinese delegation meetings, finalisation of adoptions from Thailand, and the progress of ongoing discussions with Fiji about the program framework. The Ethiopia and India program reviews have now been completed and work is underway to review the Bolivia, China, Lithuania and Philippines programs. An AGD representative will be visiting Lithuania en route to Hague Conference Special Commission meeting in June 2010 to meet with Australia’s program representative and the Lithuanian Central Authority. Developments in the India and Ethiopia programs were discussed as separate items during the meeting (see below).

India

The outcomes of AGD’s review of the India program were discussed. A hard copy of the executive summary and recommendations was provided to States and Territories. The review concluded that the India program will continue to operate in its current form (i.e. with a restricted list of Indian agencies with whom Australia has an established relationship), with AGD investigating options for a possible managed expansion. The freeze with one agency, Preet Mandir, will be maintained.

Coincidently, the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation issued a press release on 17 May 2010 outlining serious allegations registered in a case against the Managing Trustee of Preet Mandir. Possible implications for Australian families who had adopted from Preet Mandir were discussed and AGD outlined next steps for obtaining more information about the allegations. AGD and State and Territory Central Authorities agreed to remain in close contact about this issue.

Ethiopia

AGD outlined and Central Authorities discussed the projects being progressed to make changes to the Ethiopia program. This includes working to engage an NGO to establish and implement development assistance projects; drafting an MOU with the International Organisation for Migration to undertake document verification and background checking; re-drafting the MOU with the Ethiopian Ministry of Women’s Affairs to reflect Australia’s current ICA arrangements and the Ethiopian Government’s expectations regarding development assistance work; developing a guideline to clarify appropriate contact and donations by AACASA; negotiating the new service agreement with the Australian Representatives; developing a working agreement with the Grace Centre as our partner orphanage; and developing a policy on sibling adoption. AGD also advised Central Authorities about the Ethiopian Federal First Instance Court’s new requirement that adoptive parents attend court for the granting of the adoption order. Central Authorities discussed the implications of this for families.

Consideration of possible new programs

AGD discussed work being progressed to consider the viability of potential programs with Cambodia, South Africa, USA, and Vietnam. In particular, AGD noted the South African Central Authority is looking to commence formal discussions about a possible program after September 2010, and Cambodia is scheduled to recommence intercountry adoption in March 2011. AGD will continue to update Central Authorities on possible new programs as further information becomes available.

National Intercountry Advisory Group (NICAAG)

A representative from NICAAG attended sessions to discuss issues relating to special needs adoption and statistics, and raised several issues with Central Authorities on behalf of NICAAG, including the consistency of information between country program information available on State/Territory and AGD websites, and training and education offered to adoptive families by service providers in States/Territories. AGD outlined recent NICAAG appointments affecting Victoria, Tasmania, NSW, ACT and the Northern Territory. Alternate member positions for ACT and Tasmania remain vacant at this time.

Special Needs Adoption

Central Authorities discussed the increasing trend of countries of origin to seek families for children with special needs and the need for appropriate preparation and comprehensive assessment of prospective adoptive parents considering such an adoption. It was noted that adoptive families need to have particular skills and qualities to ensure a successful adoption where a child has special needs. This included consideration of recent experiences of some jurisdictions with China’s Online Special Needs Program, and education workshops for prospective adoptive parents held in Victoria and South Australia. The meeting also discussed the challenges of managing resource allocation and post placement support for special needs adoptions.

Statistics

AIHW representatives outlined the timeframes for data collections and publications for the Adoptions Australia 2009–10 report, noting the downward trend in adoption numbers in Australia. The meeting acknowledged the importance of this information and discussed the feasibility of collecting statistics on the proportion of adopted children with special needs and the numbers of adoption breakdowns and disruptions. However, definitional problems and lack of contact following conclusion of the formal post placement supervision period mean that collecting meaningful data would be problematic. Privacy considerations mean that any data would need to be carefully

de-identified such as by collating it only on an Australia-wide basis.

Anti-trafficking and safeguards work

AGD provided an update on various work underway to enhance safeguards and maintain the integrity of Australia’s intercountry adoption programs. The Protocol for Responding to Allegations of Child Trafficking in Intercountry Adoption is currently being finalised and should be placed on AGD’s website shortly. Revised draft Guidelines for Raising Cases with the Australian Central Authority, which are intended to assist Central Authorities with the management of irregularities in any future cases, were also presented and discussed. AGD outlined a new proposal for the development of an information statement about inherent risks of intercountry adoption. The statement would be placed on AGD’s website and would be included in preliminary information material given out by States and Territories to prospective applicants. Central Authorities gave in principle support to this and agreed to continue discussions about the contents of the statement out of session.

Broader policy work

AGD presented updates on key policy projects, including a review of the Strategic Plan, proposed amendments to the Family Law (Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption) Regulations and the Family Law (Bilateral Arrangements) Regulations, accreditation issues including overseas service delivery and timeframes for the review of the Commonwealth-State Agreement. Each of these projects will seek to strengthen and provide greater clarity and certainty regarding Australia’s framework for intercountry adoption. Formal consultation on the proposed amendments to the regulations will occur in the coming months and it is anticipated there may be a need for consequential amendments to State and Territory laws. Renegotiation of the Commonwealth-State Agreement is due to commence in January 2011, however Central Authorities agreed to convene discussions in the second half of 2010. The Commonwealth–State Agreement also requires a review of the Accreditation Criteria Schedule to be undertaken. Central Authorities agreed to further discussion on these policy projects out of session through working groups to be convened by CDSMAC where appropriate.

Harmonisation Working Group and Alternative Models Working Group

The Harmonisation Working Group was held on the afternoon of 17 May 2010. The group’s communiqué will be placed on AGD’s website and a report provided to CDSMAC out of session in accordance with usual practice. Following CDSMAC’s recent consideration of the report of the Alternative Models Working Group, AGD is coordinating a meeting of senior CDSMAC officials on 16 July 2010 to consider the strategic issues associated with the delivery of intercountry adoption services. The outcome of this meeting will need to be taken into consideration in the review of the Commonwealth–State Agreement and the Commonwealth Family Law Regulations.

Hague Conference Special Commission – June 2010

AGD outlined preparations for Australia’s participation in the Special Commission, which will be attended by a delegation from AGD. Central Authorities discussed the agenda, which includes one day of discussions about the abduction, sale and trafficking of children in the context of adoption, and this day is being sponsored by the Australian Government. The remainder of the Special Commission will consider the draft Guide to Good Practice on Accreditation, safeguards in adoption, cooperation and communication issues, Hague Convention procedures, post-adoption issues, and technical assistance. Central Authorities were invited to submit requests for issues to be raised by the delegation with participating countries during the meeting or in sideline discussions.

Miscellaneous items

A range of other items were discussed, including Central Authorities’ experiences to date using the Information Portal, options for encouraging greater participation by State/Territory representatives in delegation visits, and the importance of the operational telelinks being a regular forum for caseworkers to engage on day to day issues.

Next meeting

The next meeting is scheduled to take place on 11–12 November 2010 in Sydney.

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