The Adoption of Children Act 1964 (Act no. 54/1964) commenced on 1 August 1965. It repealed the earlier Acts in accordance with uniform adoption legislation throughout Australia. This act has the full title "An Act to Consolidate and Amend the Law Relating to the Adoption of Children". The Act states that the welfare and interests of the children are the paramount consideration in making an order for adoption. The Act made the Chief Executive of the State Children's Department responsible for making an order for adoption. Grounds for dispensing with consent were if the Court was satisfied that a parent or guardian had abandoned or neglected the child. This act was repealed in 2010 by the Adoption Act 2009 (Act no.29/2009).
1936 - 1965 Adoption of Children Act 1935
1965 - 2010 Adoption of Children Act 1964
2009 - Adoption Act 2009
Sources used to compile this entry: To Remove and Protect: laws that changed Aboriginal lives, Queensland Legislation, 2009, http://aiatsis.gov.au/collections/collections-online/digitised-collections/remove-and-protect/queensland; Department of Families, Missing pieces: information to assist former residents of children's institutions to access records, State of Queensland, 2001. p.103.; Law Research Service, Melbourne Law School, Law Library, The University of Melbourne. 'Find and Connect Project - Queensland Legislation', 4 April 2013, held in the project files at the University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre.
Prepared by: Lee Butterworth
Created: 17 May 2011, Last modified: 6 June 2018
Last updated: 7 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/qld/biogs/QE00017b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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