Community Welfare Act 1983 (NT)

Section 68 Assistance to Aboriginal Communities, &c

The Minister shall provide such support and assistance to Aboriginal communities and organisations as he thinks fit in order to develop their efforts in respect of the welfare of Aboriginal families and children, including the promotion of the training and employment of Aboriginal welfare workers.

Section 69 Aboriginal Child in Need of Care

Where a child in need of care is an Aboriginal, the Minister shall ensure that -

(a) every effort is made to arrange appropriate custody within the child’s extended family;

(b) where such custody cannot be arranged to his satisfaction, every effort is made to arrange appropriate custody of the child by Aboriginal people who have the correct relationship with the child in accordance with Aboriginal customary law; and

(c) where the custody referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) cannot be arranged without endangering the welfare of the child - after consultation with -


(i) the child’s parents and other persons with the responsibility for the welfare of the child in accordance with Aboriginal customary law; and

(ii) such Aboriginal welfare organisations as are appropriate in the case of the particular child,

(iii) preference for custody of the child by Aboriginal persons who are suitable in the opinion of the Minister;

(iv) placement of the child in geographical proximity to the family or other relatives of the child who have an interest in, and responsibility for, the welfare of the child; and

(v) undertakings by the persons having the custody of the child to encourage and facilitate the maintenance of contact between the child and its own kin and with its own culture.

Section 43 Findings of Court

(1) In proceedings in relation to a child in relation to whom an application under this Part is made, the Court shall consider -

... (e) where the child is an Aboriginal - the person or persons to whom, in its opinion, custody of the child should be given should the child be found to be in need of care, having regard to the criteria imposed on the Minister by section 69.

(2) Subject to subsections (1) and (3), the Court shall only declare a child to be in need of care where it is satisfied that an order declaring the child to be in need of care would ensure that the standard of care of the child as a result of that order would be significantly higher than the standard presently maintained in respect of the child.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the Court shall, in assessing the standard of care of the child, consider the social and cultural standards of the community in which the parents, guardians or persons having the custody of the child (and, where appropriate, the extended family of the child) reside or with which they maintain social and cultural ties.

Adoption of Children Act 1994 (NT)

Section 11 Adoption of Aboriginal Child

(1) Where an order for the adoption of an Aboriginal child is to be made, the Court shall satisfy itself that every effort has been made (including consultation with the child’s parents, with other persons who have responsibility for the welfare of the child in accordance with Aboriginal customary law and with such Aboriginal welfare organisations as are appropriate in the case of the particular child) to arrange appropriate custody -

(a) within the child’s extended family; or

(b) where that cannot be arranged, with Aboriginal people who have the correct relationship with the child in accordance with Aboriginal customary law.


(2) In making an order for the adoption of an Aboriginal child, where, in the opinion of the Court, the custody referred to in subsection (1) is not possible or would not be consistent with the welfare and interests of the child, the Court shall ensure that a placement is made that is consistent with the best interests and welfare of the child and in so doing shall -

(a) give preference to the adoption of the child by applicants one or both of whom are Aboriginal persons who are, in the opinion of the Minister, suitable to adopt the child;

(b) take into consideration the placement of the child in geographical proximity to the family or other relatives of the child who have an interest in, and a responsibility for, the welfare of the child; and

(c) take into consideration undertakings, if any, by the persons who will have the care and custody of the child to encourage and facilitate the maintenance of contact between the child and its own kin and with its own culture.

Section 3(1) Interpretation

“Aboriginal” means a person who is a member of the Aboriginal race of Australia;

Section 13 Adoption by couple

(1) Except as provided by this section, the Court shall only make an order for the adoption of a child in favour of a couple where the man and woman -

...

(b) have entered into a relationship that is recognised as a traditional Aboriginal marriage and has been so recognised for not less than 2 years,


on the date on which the order is made.

Schedule 1 Matters of Ethnicity and Religion

With regard to the matters of ethnicity and religion in determining the welfare and interests of a child, the Minister and the Court shall take into account the following principles:

(1) it is preferable that the child should be placed with a family that has the same ethnic and cultural origins as the child’s birth parents in order to facilitate an environment that will promote the child’s cultural heritage and identity;

(2) where the child is an Aboriginal child, recognition is to be given to -

(i) the absence of adoption in customary Aboriginal child care arrangements, arrangements for the custody and guardianship of the child being made within the child’s extended family or with other Aboriginal people who have the correct relationship under customary Aboriginal law; and

(ii) the desire and effort of the Aboriginal community to preserve the integrity of its culture and kinship relationships so that efforts must be made to find placements within families, kin groups or ethnic communities as appropriate;

(4) where it is the express wish of the birth parents of a child that the child be placed with a family that has particular religious convictions, preference is to be given to the placement of the child with such a family.