The Adoption of Children Act 1920 was amended in 1943, 1945 and 1960.

The Report of the Joint Select Committee on Adoption and Related Services 1950-1988 referred to the 'abuses and undesirable practices that had grown up under the 1920 act':

Prior to the 1968 legislation people who wished to adopt a child in Tasmania could register with the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. On the making of an adoption order, the adoptive parents received a copy of that order on which would be found the child's original surname and Christian name, if s/he had been given one. Prospective adoptive parents were not subject to any assessment, often there was virtually no waiting time before they received a child and there was no follow up once the adoption was completed.