Complete
Department of Social Services
Australia-wide
Intercountry Adoption Australia (IAA) provides a national support service and a central point of contact for people at all stages of the intercountry adoption process.
In 2015, the then Prime Minister announced the establishment of the IAA support service as part of the Australian Government’s overall Intercountry Adoption reform program. The IAA was launched on May 2015 to provide:
It is designed to complement existing state and territory government support services. Eligibility rules for adoptions and processing of applications from prospective adoptive parents continue to be the responsibility of state and territory governments.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that for 2014-15:
AHA was engaged to conduct an independent review of the IAA support service, which is operated by the Department of Social Services (DSS). The review assessed whether the service was implemented as intended and whether it was achieving, or was likely to achieve, its intended outcomes:
The review involved synthesis of existing available data as well as collection and analysis of new information. Information collection methods included:
In 2014-15, a total of 292 children were adopted in Australia. Almost one-third - 83 children, all under 10 years of age - were born overseas.