Legal costs for Adoption and Permanent Care in Victoria?

[Lioness]

Hi all,

I've perused this site, and many others, and can't seem to find any information on the approximate legal costs of adoption or permanent care placement in Victoria. I do realise that naturally each case is different, so the costs will vary, but I'm just trying to get a ballpark idea.

are we talking over $20,000AUD? Over $30,000AUD?

and also do the total costs accrue over time, or is it like so much "down and the balance at check out"?

There is so much info out there but I can't find anything about this!

Anyone?

[HotI]

Here is a link to the FAQs on adoption and permanent care in Victoria. Frequently asked questions (FAQ): Adoption and Permanent Care - State Government of Victoria, Australia, Department of Human Services

It depends on whether you are talking about local adoption or intercountry adoption. With permant care or local adoption, the costs are not going to be as high as $20,000.

[lil_chookie]

Intercountry Adoption (ICA) you are looking at the fees you have listed.

For Local Adoption in Victoria there are no fees payable during assessment, no fees upon placement. The only fee is after you have been placed for 12 months you apply to the County Court for the Adoption Order to be passed and you will just have legal fees to cover (no more than $3k). You then become the Legal Parent and a new birth certificate is issued.

With Permanent Care you become the childs Legal Guardian, so you are not applying to the court, the agency handles this.

[Lioness]

Thanks HotI and lil_chookie,

I had practically autopsied the Vic A&PC website, but was discouraged that they didn't seem to address the costs of either option at all. I guess they don't want to scare away potentially adoptive/PC parents...?

Incidentally the cost is not an issue; I just wanted to get an idea for "planning purposes".....sort of like drawing up a business plan! I am very surprised to learn that for local and PC it would probably be less than $20,000. I am expecting a range of $40,000 - $50,000 for intercountry, after it's all said and done.

We are most interested in local adoption and/or Permanent Care mainly, although, Intercountry Adoption is still very much in the running. Considering applying to Taiwan, as we fit ALL the criteria for them, they have heaps of littlies (well, that's what I gathered from my research) and the wait is significantly shorter than other countries that have an adoption agreement with Australia. I think Taiwan is 18-30 months approx wait for placement after approvals. Much better than a 5 year or longer wait, plus the children range in age from birth to 10-12.

I would love to parent at least once from infant/baby/toddler. But I'm also very interested in sibling groups of 2. Regardless of Adoption or PC. I think it would be good for the child to have at least one blood relative active in their lives, plus I feel it might be easier to settle into a new family if there is someone there that you already know. perhaps I'm wrong about that, but I'm still interested anyway.

Thanks heaps for your replies.

[Lolly]

Lioness

I am going through the Permanent Care approval process at the moment in NSW. Permanent Care does not cost you anything. The agency will pay you a certain amount of money for set up costs e.g bed, car seat etc. The government then pays you a weekly tax free allowance to help to cover their day to day costs like food, clothes medical etc. The amount depends on the age of the child but it is around $250 a week here in NSW. In NSW once you have had permanent custody of the child for at least 2 years you can apply to adopt the child. Laws have recently changed here to make this process much easier. The courts now think that adopting the children out is better for their well being because it gives them a feeling of permanency and security. I am sorry but I don’t know what the court costs would be but I honestly don’t think doing it this way would be anything close to the amounts your thinking. I am thinking only a few hundred to maybe few thousand dollars. I may be wrong as I haven’t got to this point yet (but am hoping to) but the people from the agency I am using that are going through the adoption process at the moment didn’t seem at all concerned about how much it cost and these are not people with a lot of money.