Factsheets

National Adoption Awareness Week - Deborra-Lee Furness on Sunrise

Nov 05 08:03am

- Deborra-Lee Furness continues her campaign to simplify adoption
- National Awareness Week is November

Not just know for her celebrity spouse, Deborra-Lee Furness has many passions and lately she has also had many other reasons to smile. It wasn't always easy.

Deborra-Lee had numerous miscarriages and tried IVF many times

Deborra-Lee and her husband Hugh Jackman decided to adopt 12-years ago but they soon found the Australian system of adoption was a hopeless mish-mash of procedure and difficulty.

In Australia adoption can take as long as 6 years. (Using her US residency, it took Deborra-Lee and Hugh just 9 months to adopt a child.)

The cost is also beyond many people. In NSW alone, couples can spend about $40,000 on the process.


	A major event
	This year will see the first National Adoption Awareness Week – Nov 17-23

Deborra-Lee began pushing for Australia's adoption process to be overhauled, saying, "I would like to feel pride, as an Australian, that we are standing up and contributing. At this stage, I don't think we're doing enough.''

In February this year, newly appointed Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans sent a delegation to Asia in efforts to begin adoption programs in Vietnam and Cambodia.

"I'm thrilled. It shows signs the Government is taking this issue seriously,'' Furness said at the time.

The situation

Adoption Laws in Australia have not been changed since 1964
Australia is the second lowest country in the world in terms of the number of inter country adoptions
Australians adopt children from: 28% China, 24% South Korea, 17% Ethiopia
In 1971-72 there were 9798 adoptions, which declined to 1052 in 1991-92.

More info

Adoption Awareness Week

Adoption Law

Adoption and finding your family information - Sunrise

Adoption links

Tasmania

Victoria

Queensland

NSW

ACT

8 Comments Report Abuse

1. ebonyswanne - Nov 05 12:29pm

While I support positive change as an adoptive mother I'm concerned with her referances to Hague. Indicating Australia should lower our standards to allow couples to adopt children without that protection. The USA is a good example on why we shouldn't lower it.

2. ebonyswanne - Nov 05 12:34pm

To add to my comment. I would like to see more representation of local adoption support groups. People who are living adoption on a daily basis. (Deborah and Hugh still didn't adopt their children through our system.)

3. nattyty@rocketmail.com - Nov 05 02:11pm

Good on Deborrah-Lee, let's debate all the issues. I have a adopted son and can't believe the law hasn't changed since 1964!! It doesn't matter how one adopts a chid, there are always issues. The main concern is there are children in many countries without a family.

4. nattyty@rocketmail.com - Nov 05 02:16pm

Cambodia children can't be adopted by Australians because of the Hague convention, I think Deborrah-Lee was indicating that something should be done about that issue. Support is needed for all adoptive families.

5. candycandy_au7 - Nov 05 09:42pm

The adoption laws are archaic, especially in QLD. We have looked into adoption, and have found the system in Australia too judgemental, difficult and expensive. There are many countrys that have ratified the Hague incl USA, but we are still unable to adopt from there, why is this??

6. mickey031271 - Nov 09 10:53pm

I'm currently on the waiting list. Advised by DHS ICAS it's going to take 5 years. At the meeting DHS advised that this was due to other countries laws and beyond Aust Govt's control. However I'm now begining to discover that this time frame is in fact imposed by the Aust Govt. Where's the honesty?

7. manmarx3 - Nov 10 06:48am

my children were adopted from korea over 20yrs ago and even then the process through the queensland dept were questionable.
they were no positive aspects to the process. more should be done to listen to parents who have actually brought up children and learn from their experiences.

8. ramones1band - Nov 16 12:28am

We are in NSW and first put in our application for overseas adoption in sept. 2006. Our file went to Thailand in april this year and we are waiting... waiting for 'the' phone call for the placement of our adopted child, which at latest reports suggests around the middle of next year! Wish us luck

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