Comments

Some of the comments we have received so far: (PAGE 1)

With the world's orphans in crisis and open arms willing to welcome them into our homes - WHY all the red tape!

What is the problem Australia? Kids need families before they need culture .

Please get the promised changes underway with urgency. We've waited almost 2.5 years since all the above was approved at a Federal level. There is a major amouint of fear (toward the govt) & major heartache (in waiting for our adopted children).

Please implement the recommendations of the inquiry.
Make adoption affordable for all families. Remove age restriction for baby bonus being 2.Allow more adoptions for children who wait and wait for families in other countries while we have families waiting years.
It shouldn't take over 2 years to action the approved report. Too many people are suffering
I have been waiting for 10 yrs for my daughter to be referred a child, with at least another 4-5 yrs to wait. I have seen a lot of unethical & misleading dealings from the govt dept purely because my daughter is single.
I want my little brother or sister to be here but the govt wont let that happen. It's just not fair!
It has taken us nearly 3 years to adopt our 3 yr old son from overseas, and it has cost us well over $30,000. Surely all children should be treated as equals, and as a new family we should be granted the same equity as other Australian families .
So many people are moving overseas to adopt. I thought Australia was meant to be the Lucky country?!
There are are so many children needing help. Why is the govt stopping those who want to help?
Children should be givien the opportunity of being raised in a family environment, no matter where they are from.
These urgent issues not only need to be addressed now but should be implemented in retrospect - back dated. They have dragged their heals for so long our family will receive no financial benefit from the proposed recommendations.
I can't understand why it is so hard for good people to adopt? I am an orphan (now in my 70's) & I was in institutions for most of my younger life. No child should go through the horrors I went through.
Australia should acknowledge there are all types of blended families these days & let singles adopt form all states.
Singles should have the same rules & benefits as couples. Some of the best parents I've seen are single.
It's about time the govt took themselves into the 21st century & joined the rest of the world with their adoption regulations.
Why should the children suffer because of governments lack of caring & action? it's just not fair.
I'm all for every state having the same rules. makes sense.
I'd hate to have no family & home because of a lazy government. Please change update the laws.
Everyone should be able to adopt & Australia should have agreements with many more countries.
As a mother of 2 children, my heart goes out to all people wanting desperately to adopt children. The longing to have a child can be heart-breaking, whether one's own, or an adopted child. Love knows no distinctions.
Ratification of any of the above changes should and must include Australian living and working overseas (expatriates) who also need a voice in their quarters.
Please implement the above 11 issues in relation to intercountry adoption as soon as possible. Mother of two children adopted from Thailand.
The length of the adoption process in Australia (WA) is excessive by any means. It will be over 1 yr from contacting DOCS to being allowed to do the Information seminar. It is beyond a joke.
We are Potential Adoptive Parents, our file has been in Thailand since end Oct 2006 (nearly 17 months)
As parents of a child that we adopted over the age of two, and waiting for a second allocation, again over the age of two, passing this bill as a matter of equity and fairness is a HUGE issue for us!
Australian society will never see adoptive families as 'real' families until the Fed. and State Governments stop discriminating against them. Birth families receive far more in benefits through Medicare and leave entitlements than any adoptive family.
Thousands of childless couples in Australia! Thousands of abandoned/orphaned children worldwide! Let's put them together NOW, not YEARS from now!
As promised prior to the election, the Federal Government should remove the age limit for adopted children in relation to the maternity allowance. (Recommendation 9 of Standing Committee on Family and Human Services report Nov 2005)
As someone once said since why has adoption become such a dirty word in this country. The govt should also not be afraid to make children who are in foster care available for adoption.
Federal govt should provide an equivalent support to adoptive families as they do to birth families. That means offset for costs, baby bonus etc.
I'm ashamed that to date the Australian government is so publicly proud to be a party to the Hague Convention yet does so little to give needy children overseas homes.
Surely to adopt a child and give them a loving family shouldn't be so hard... I was adopted and had wanted to do the same myself... never did I think I would be doing the same. Thank goodness I am an Expat and adopting from the US and not Australia...
It has taken two years to complete the approval prcess for adoption from Ethiopia. It is expected to take another five years before allocation. There are so many orphans who need homes. This process is too long.
We have visited overseas orphanages full of children needing families. Why are we waiting?
As a country we should come together and support each other.
I believe that Australia has an anti-adoption culture. Many families feel emotionally battered and bruised from the 'assessment' process and the years of 'waiting' in line. We need to move past this and foster a positive, honest and transparent system
I would like to express my concern about the difficulties adoptive parents have when trying to adopt a child from overseas. It is a very expensive and drawn out process which can be improved dramatically.
In a perfect world all children would be raised by their parents, but its not a perfect world, so adoption is a childs best hope of having a normal life, in Australia there is no shortage of couples wanting to adopt, lets get moving on fixing the adoption ...
It's hard enough for those families waiitng for seminars, assessors, approval and allocation. Imagine how hard it is on those children living in orphanages waiting for a family. There will never be enough families to give these children a home.
Please remove the age barrier for the "baby bonus" so ALL adoptive families qualify equally. WHY DOES IT ALL TAKE SO LONG COMPARED TO THOSE IN THE US. WE ANXIOUSLY AWAIT A SIBLING FOR OUR ADOPTED SON....WE STARTED THE PROCESS FOR NO. 2 2.5 YRS AGO
Please implement the changes from the report into intercountry adoption in Australia. Thank you! Proud dad to one form Korea....and hopefully a 2nd (2.5yrs waiting! for no2)
These children don't have months & years for governments and departments to have meeting after meeting, they need action NOW. Show we are not an anti adoption country with your swift action.
We have been waiting to adopt for nearly 7 years now. When we first started to apply I contracted breast cancer. Now we have waited 5 year for the all clear. We are starting the process again.
With so many children needing homes and love from a family, why is it so hard and so long for a loving aussie family to adopt a child.
The federal govt. must review the out dated adoption policy and to introdcue new legistation complying to the 21st century. Make the laws equal for married couples who canot have children and also give a child a chance of life free from poverty
In WA we are waiting up to five years to adopt a child. Half of the wait is caused by delays with our state government.Give us not for profit NGO's to improve the process.
I find it difficult to understand the differences between people's experiences in only one state, and the amazing disparity between states, what each state is telling their stakeholders. We need to approach countries from a position of unity
Dont let sad little orphans suffer a minute longer. Don't let wanting parents wait unneccassarily
I think that we really need to make some changes so that adoption is a much smoother & fairer & quicker process. Particularly abolish the age restriction on the maternity bonus! Adoption is expensive, but still a very valid way to form a family.
No matter how you form your family everyone should be treated equally.
It took a full 12 months for our formal application to be processed and approved in NSW.It it is now 25 months since it was logged into the Chinese system. How much longer until we give a child a home?
Having lost 10 babies and now to be told we have to wait 5 to 6 years to adopt, which will also make us out of age for adoption regulations. It's crazy.