For more than 45,000 Australian children living in out-of-home care, adoption can provide a pathway to a secure family for life. However, fewer Australian children living in OOHC are being adopted today than ever before, a recent Federal Government report reveals.  

The frequency of child domestic and inter-country adoption has decreased in Australia since the 1970s, and in the past year has reached the lowest rate in five decades according to the latest data published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

As reported by the AIHW, the number of adoptions in Australia declined by 98 per cent from 9798 adoptions in 1971–72 to just 207 adoptions in 2023–24. 

The decline of adoption rates does not align with the increasing number of displaced children, and experts say the entire OOHC system is ripe for reform. 

University of South Australia PhD candidate Krystal Lanais has researched the impacts of child protection and intervention on child development and wellbeing. With multiple alternative pathways to adoption available, Ms Lanais said the extremely low rates of adoption were unsurprising: “Adoption requires the parent to legally and permanently give up their parental rights and responsibilities for their child — the psychological and situational complexities of such a decision cannot be understated. 

“Additionally, considering the larger social and economic climate, an increase in the availability of contraceptions and safe abortion, and enduring distrust in the [adoption] system, there are fewer reasons why a parent would make this incredibly difficult decision.”

While the ideal situation is to keep children in their own families, Ms Lanais said the key to the success of this option requires “an increase in the provision of trauma-informed psychotherapeutic intensive family support and policies which reduce poverty and systemic disadvantage.”

Peak body Adopt Change chief executive Renee Leigh Carter said the decline was “concerning” and called for more adoptive parents to “ensure children have the support and stability they need”. 

“myths and misconceptions persist that present as barriers to adoption,” she said.

“Until there is an understanding that adoption can provide stability and healing for a child who is unable to live with their birth parents, adoption rates are unlikely to increase.”

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are overrepresented in the OOHC system.  AIHW said in 2023–2024, only four of the 11 First Nations children adopted involved at least one adoptive parent who identified as Indigenous.

Experts argue that this current system is not designed to meet the cultural needs of First Nations children.

Karin Manang woman and Associate Professor Hannah McGlade from Curtin Law School said: “It is true that all children need stability, but we are also concerned about the issue of systemic discrimination in the OOHC system and its impact on the very high number of Aboriginal children who have been removed by the state from their families.”

Associate Professor McGlade noted the significant cost on the social and emotional wellbeing of First Nations children who are at risk of losing their cultural identity when dealing with the OOHC system: “We know that Aboriginal children’s cultural identity protects them, keeps them safe and builds their resilience.”

Badimia (Yamatji) academic and lecturer at the Curtin Centre for Aboriginal Studies Dr Carol Dowling began fostering children in OOHC 22 years ago and has proudly raised three Noongar children.  

She said: “Being immersed in that system made me realise how flawed and problematic it was, particularly for First Nations children. There is a continuation of the mentalities towards First Nations families to that of the Stolen Generations.”

So what is the solution to an OOHC system that best serves Australian children? Associate Professor McGlade emphasised the importance of adequately funded cultural healing centres for First Nations families; a greater focus on preventative approaches to address the underlying causes of children ending up in OOHC, and most poignantly said she wanted to see transformations in the overall OOHC system to ensure the implemention of Aboriginal-led, family-based decision making practices.

Ms Lanais said reconsidered funding parameters for the OOHC system would improve the future wellbeing of impacted Australian children. She said: “The government needs to significantly increase the amount of funding and industry expertise in prevention and early intervention programs.”