Clover Moore has introduced the Adoption Amendment (Same-Sex Couples) Bill to remove discrimination against same-sex couples in adoption law.  The Bill furthers the best interests of children by permitting same-sex couples eligibility to adopt. Prospective parents should be assessed on objective criteria, not on their sexual orientation.

Take action now and tell your local MP that adoption equality will promote the best interests of children and urge them to support the Bill.

Demand immediate adoption equality to end the last piece of direct legislative discrimination against same-sex couples in NSW.

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After an intense parliamentary inquiry into Adoption by Same-Sex Couples, a majority of the NSW Law and Justice Committee recommended that discrimination against same-sex couples and their children be removed from the Adoption Act 2000 (NSW).

Use our simple form to send a personalised email to Premier Kristina Keneally demanding members of the NSW Government support the Adoption Amendment (Same-Sex) Bill to promote the best interests of children by removing discrimination against same-sex couples in adoption. 

The majority of the Committee recommended:

• Removing the ban on same-sex couple adoption, thereby allowing same-sex couples to be assessed in the same way as other individuals and couples - on their fitness to parent, not their sexual orientation.
• Allowing same-sex step-parents the same access to step-parent adoption mechanisms.
• Introducing a second-parent adoption mechanism to allow co-parents not covered by previous reforms the ability to legally formalise their relationships with their children.

The Committee also recommended an exemption for faith-based adoption agencies, allowing them to continue to discriminate against same-sex couples. However, the majority of the Committee argued that these organisations should be obliged to refer same-sex couples to other non-discriminatory adoption agencies.

• Read the GLRL's media release in response to the government's announcement
• Read the Final Report from the Inquiry into Adoption by Same-Sex Couples
• Read the GLRL's submission to the inquiry

Demand action on adoption equality now!

Adoption Equality:  Why it Matters 

In NSW, lesbians and gay men can apply to adopt children as individuals, but not as a same-sex couple. This is because the definition of a 'couple' in the Adoption Act 2000 (NSW) only recognises married and opposite-sex de facto couples. 

In 2008, the NSW Parliament passed important laws to recognise children born to lesbian couples through assisted conception procedures. Whilst these important parentage laws covered most children in same-sex families, some children were not covered.

Children in same-sex foster families, and some children with same-sex step parents and co-parents need adoption to ensure they also have equal rights and protection under the law. For these children, adoption will ensure their parents and families are also legally recognised and that they can have a birth certificate which reflects their family structure.

Same-sex couple adoption reform would ensure children have the benefit of:

• Parental authority. Children in the care of same-sex couples could have two legally-recognised parents empowered to give consent for their medical treatment, take them to hospital, sign school permission notes, and interact with their child care centres and schools.
• Custody and contact. Children in the care of same-sex couples who were adopted would have more certainty around their care and welfare if a parent dies or their parents separate.
• Inheritance. Children in the care of same-sex couples who were adopted would have have automatic rights to inherit property and superannuation upon the death of their adoptive parents.
• Entitlements and responsibilities conferred to parents and children under state and federal legislation. Any legislation which confered rights or responsibilities to a parent or child would be conferred to the adoptive parents and their child. For example, children will have rights to child support and worker’s compensation if an adoptive parent dies or is seriously injured at work.

Whilst most adoptions in Australia concern children known to the parents, some adoptions also involve the placing of an unrelated children with a new family. Adoption equality in this area would ensure that same-sex couples would be assessed according to objective criteria - like any other couple or individual - on their ability to provide a stable and loving home to a child.

However, even if NSW reformed its adoption laws, same-sex couples would not be eligible to adopt children from overseas at the present time. This is because the countries which have adoption arrangements with Australia do not presently accept same-sex couples as prospective parents.

Demand action on adoption equality now!

8 Reasons for Supporting Adoption Equality

1. Research on gay and lesbian parenting. All the credible research confirms that children are not disadvantaged by having lesbian and gay parents. Research has shown that family processes, not family structures, are determinative of children’s wellbeing. That is, the happiness of the relationship between the adults in the home, and the degree of openness, warmth and communication within the family, not the gender or sexuality of the adults, has the most significant impact on the child.
   
   

2. Practical impacts of discrimination. Discrimination against same-sex couples hurts children with gay and lesbian parents by denying legal and social recognition to their families. Legal recognition would give same-sex parents the power to consent to medical treatment for their child, sign permission notes and exercise parental authority without question or the need for court orders. Children can also miss out on inheritance entitlements.

3. Judge individuals on their merits, not their sexual orientation. Every individual or couple has to go through strict assessment procedures to determine whether they are fit and proper persons to adopt a child. No one has the right to adopt a child, but same-sex couples should not be excluded before they have had the chance to show their capabilities as potential parents like everybody else. 

4. Inconsistency in the law. It makes no sense to allow individual lesbians and gay men to apply for adoption, but not same-sex couples. 

5. Same-sex couples are foster carers. Same-sex couples have been actively recruited as foster carers for many years, and provide wonderful foster care for children in need. Children in long-term foster care deserve the stability of having their parents legally recognised.

6. Discrimination fuels social myths and prejudice. Discrimination against gays and lesbians in adoption law perpetuates hurtful myths that lesbians and gay men pose a risk to children. This reflects unfairly on the valuable contributions of many same-sex parents, and all lesbians and gay men who work with children as teachers, youth workers and carers.

7. Same-sex families have recognition in many Australian jurisdictions. Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory have same-sex adoption equality. Tasmania also allows same-sex couples to adopt a partner’s child. New South Wales and the Northern Territory recognise children born to lesbian couples through assisted reproductive technology. The Commonwealth Family Law Act also recognises same-sex families.

8. Adoption is the last area of discrimination against same-sex couples. Since 1999, NSW has progressively removed all discrimination against same-sex couples – adoption being the last significant area of discrimination.

Demand action on adoption equality now!