New Victoria, Australia Adoption Contact Legislation-Adoption Amendment Bill 2013

“The Victorian Parliament has passed controversial adoption legislation which allows birth parents to determine the identity of their adult children.

The Adoption Amendment Bill also imposes criminal sanctions on birth parents who try to make unwanted contact with their adult children.

It will come into effect as law on July 1, 2013.

The bit split the Lower House last month, with independent MP Geoff Shaw siding with Labor for the first time.

He had quit the Liberal party the previous month and held the balance of power in Parliament.

His refusal to support the vote created a deadlock.

Speaker Ken Smith was forced to intervene, declaring his vote in support of the bill and ensuring it passed through to the Upper House.”

Victoria passes controversial adoption bill

[Australia Broadcasting Company 5/8/13]

The text of the bill can be read here. The purposes are stated as follows:

” The purpose of this Act is to amend the Adoption
Act 1984–
(a) to remove the requirement for obtaining an adult adopted person’s consent before giving identifying information to the adopted person’s natural parents; and
(b) to provide for adult adopted persons to make contact statements about their wishes for  contact with their natural parents; and s. 2

(c) to enable a birth certificate to be issued for a child adopted in a Convention country,whose adoption is recognised undersection 69D of the Act.”

Here is the part about prosecuting birth parents if they make unwanted contact:
“”127A Contact contrary to current contact statement prohibited
(1) In this section–
relevant person means a person specified in 15 a current contact statement as a person by whom an adopted person does not wish to be contacted.
(2) A person who is a natural parent of an adopted person and who knows that he or she is a relevant person must not intentionally–
(a) contact or attempt to contact the adopted person; or
(b) procure another person to contact or arrange contact with the adopted
person– unless the contact is a continuation of, or of a similar kind to, contact that the person had had with the adopted person before the person knew of the current contact statement.
Penalty: 60 penalty units”

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