The Child Welfare Act 1923 was ‘An Act to Amend and consolidate certain acts relating to children.’ It abolished the State Children’s Relief Board and created the Child Welfare Department. It also replaced a range of previous acts relating to children. These were the State Children Relief Act 1901, the Children’s Protection Act 1902, the…
The Aborigines Protection (Amendment) Act 1936 (32/1936) was ‘An Act to make further provisions as to the protection and care of aborigines; to amend the Aborigines Protection Act, 1909, and certain other Acts, in certain respects’. It further extended the powers of the State Government over Aboriginal people – in effect, it treated all Aboriginal…
The Aborigines Protection Act 1909 (25/1909) was ‘An Act to provide for the protection and care of aborigines; to repeal the Supply of Liquors to Aborigines Prevention Act; to amend the Vagrancy Act, 1902, and the Police Offences (Amendment) Act, 1908; and for purposes consequent thereon or incidental thereto.’ It provided the Aborigines Protection Board,…
The Aborigines Protection Amending Act 1915 was a significant increase in the powers of the Aborigines Protection Board. It allowed the Board to assume parental rights over Aboriginal children and to remove children ‘of any aborigine’ without Court orders, or parental consent, and treat children ‘absconding’ from care as ‘neglected’ under the Neglected Children and…
The Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act 1905 16/1905) was a substantial law which applied in New South Wales, as well as in the Australian Capital Territory. Its full title was ‘An Act to make better provision for the protection, control, education, maintenance, and reformation of neglected and uncontrollable children and juvenile offenders; to provide…
The Infant Protection Act of 1904 (27/1904) was also known as ‘An Act to make further and better provision for the protection, maintenance, education and care of infants; and to provide for the inspection, supervision, and control of places established or used for their reception and care.’ It was intended to reduce infant mortality amongst…
The State Children Relief Act 1901 (61/1901) replaced the 1881 legislation by the same name and was the basis of most law to do with state children. It provided the State Children’s Relief Board with authority to direct the removal of state children; grant licences for the reception of state children as boarders; apprentice any…
The Reformatory and Industrial Schools Act 1901(38/1901) repealed the Colonial Reformatory Act and Destitute Children’s Act which had existed since 1866. This Act governed industrial schools and reformatories. The new Act retained the 1866 provisions for offenders under sixteen, and for vagrant and destitute children. It provided a court with the power to commit a…
The Children’s Protection Act 1892 [30/1892 (55 Vic. No.30)] was a broad-ranging Act that regulated the care of infants and children. It was a response to fears about ‘baby-farming’ and the sale of unwanted children. It made it an offence to charge a premium for arranging adoptions or to fail to report a stillbirth or…
The Infant Convicts Adoption Act 1901 (15/1901) was ‘An Act to consolidate the enactments providing for the care and education of infants who may be convicted of felony or misdemeanour’. It provided for any ‘infant’, aged below nineteen years and convicted of a felony or misdemeanour, to be assigned by the Court to the care…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
