COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS – INDIA and AUSTRALIA (AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL

TERRITORY)
In India, the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 is one of the statutes referred to in
cases of adoption. In the present case, Section 11 of the said act has been applied. In
Australia, the adoption laws differ from region to region. A comparative analysis of India and
the Australian Capital Territory will be drawn here.
In the ACT (Australian Capital Territory), Adoption Act 1993 is followed, and the process of
adoption is Carried out by the Child and Youth Protection Services, and it is decided by the
ACT Supreme Court.
In the ACT, there are three types of adoption, namely, Local adoption, where the birth parents
agreed to place the kid for adoption at the time of the delivery, and you do not know the child
already; Out of home care adoption, where a child who was previously in foster or kinship
care is adopted, and step-parent adoption where the child of your partner that is the step-child
is adopted. Adoption is permitted in the ACT for children under the age of 18. Children who
can be cared for by grandparents or other extended birth family members are often not up for
adoption. In the ACT, people who are above the age of 18 can also be adopted, but this
process is carried out by private legal professionals and not the Child and Youth Protection
Services.
The Adoption Act of 1993 clearly lays down the eligibility of who can adopt and who can be
adopted. The person adopting the child in ACT must reside in the ACT and be on the list of
qualified individuals in order to adopt a child there. Whether you are adopting as a couple or
an individual, section 14 of the Adoption Act 1993 outlines the criteria required for the same.
The Child and Youth Protection Services keep track of the list of qualified individuals. People
wishing to adopt must have attended educational seminars and taken part in an evaluation that
involved interviews, police checks, and medical examinations in order to be put on the
register.
Birth parents have a significant role in the adoption regardless of whether the adoption was
local, initiated by the birth parents, or an out-of-home care adoption. Under Section 26 of the
Adoption Act of 1993, birth parents’ consent requirements are outlined. According to the said
section, both the birth parents and any other legal guardians of the child must agree to any
adoption. There are guidelines and standards for getting permission, as well as deadlines and
windows of opportunity for parents to retract their consent.
In India, a large part of society follows the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956
(HAMA). Only a child under the age of 18 can be adopted, and according to Section 11 of the
Act, if a boy is being adopted by a female, then the age gap must be 21 years, and the same
shall be followed if a girl is being adopted by a male as well. Under the said act, “if a son is
being adopted, then the adoptive parents should not have a Hindu son or a son within three
generations of prohibited degrees neither through blood relation nor through adoption living
at the time of adoption. In the case of a daughter being adopted, the adoptive parents should
not have a Hindu daughter or a granddaughter through their son, neither through blood
relation nor through adoption who is living at the time of adoption.”1

1
The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, Section 11, No.78, 1956
Another important requirement outlined by this section is that child must be given for
adoption with the intention to give up for adoption, and the child must be adopted with the
intention to be adopted. Under the HAMA, only the father has the right to give the child for
adoption with the wife’s consent. If both birth parents are dead, then the natural guardian
shall have the right to give up the child for adoption.
Though India and the ACT have very different types of adoption and processes, they also
have some similarities.