 Now for some good news!!!
This story today:smh.com.au
Bonus for parents adopting overseas
By Stephanie Peatling
April 29, 2005
People adopting children overseas can expect financial relief in next month's budget, with the Federal Government set to raise the age of children eligible for the $3000 baby bonus.
At present, parents can receive the payment only for babies less than six months old. This precludes most children adopted from overseas because they are usually older than that by the time they reach Australia.
Adoption advocates expect the Government to set aside $1 million in the budget to allow parents adopting children up to the age of two from overseas to be eligible for the bonus.
This will be welcomed by most adoptive parents whose children fall into that age bracket, but it is likely to anger parents of older children who argue that the costs of raising a child do not lessen as the child gets older.
The Minister for Family Services, Kay Patterson, is believed to have had reservations about the age restriction. Consideration has been given to lifting the age to one, two or three years, but two is the most likely option.
Choosing that age would cost the Government less than $1 million in the budget.
Only 370 children were adopted overseas in 2003-04, compared with 222 in 1993-94. Children adopted overseas are more likely to be older because of the time it takes for the adoptions to be approved by Australia and the countries of birth.
Despite their small numbers, parents and adoption advocates have successfully lobbied government backbenchers to take up their cause. Among these MPs are Michael Ferguson of Tasmania, Central Coast member Ken Ticehurst and north-western Sydney member Alan Cadman.
The issue has frequently been raised in the party room, with complaints that the process is too time-consuming and that too many anomalies exist between the states on issues like maternity leave for adoptive parents.
The Prime Minister, John Howard, has sympathised over the high costs.
Government backbenchers are said to be concerned about the differing fees imposed by states and territories.
In NSW the cost is nearly $10,000. On a federal level a $1245 application fee is imposed by the Department of Immigration for a child moving to Australia through inter-country adoption. It is not unusual for parents to spend up to $30,000 on the entire process.
WHERE THEY COME FROM
There were 502 adoptions last year, 370 from overseas.
112 children came from China, 30 per cent of the total.
Adoptions from South Korea and Ethiopia have risen; those from Fiji and Romania have almost stopped.
Only 41 per cent of children adopted from overseas are younger than two, compared with 88 per cent in Australia.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
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