The Adoption of Children Act 1964 (No. 7147) was “An Act relating to the Adoption of Children and for Purposes connected therewith.” The Adoption of Children Act 1964 was passed on 5 May 1964, commenced on 1 January 1966, and was repealed by the Adoption Act 1984 on 16 November 1987.
The 1964 Act was passed in response to the Commonwealth government’s push for model legislation to harmonise adoption law in Australia.
After the introduction of the Adoption of Children Act 1964 (Vic), the Director of Social Welfare became the legal guardian of any child whose mother (or natural parent(s)) had signed a general consent for adoption, up until an adoption order was made. The Director had to report to the Court, before an adoption order was made, on whether the potential adoptive parents were suitable parents of ‘good repute and are fit and proper persons to fulfil the responsibility of parents’ and that the welfare of the child would be ‘promoted’ by the adoption. The Court then had to be satisfied these requirements had been met before adoptive parents were granted legal custody of a child.
The Adoption Act 1964 banned all private adoptions. Under the new laws, adoptions could only be arranged by the Director-General or by a private adoption agency. Charitable organisations had to apply to the Chief Secretary for approval as a private adoption agency. There were 22 private adoption agencies approved in Victoria following the passage of this legislation.