The Australian government has decided to recommence the Adoption Programme with India, as per the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption, said the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry on Tuesday.
According to the Ministry, adoptions from India had been put on hold by Australia eight years ago, on reported charges of trafficking of children for Inter-country adoption even by some recognised Indian placement agencies.
"The regulation of Inter-country adoptions have been made strict by the government of India with the enactment of Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and notification of Adoption Regulations, 2017," it said in a statement.
The WCD Ministry, along with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), have been constantly engaging with the Australian government for recommencement of the adoption programme.
The Ministry said the recommencement of the adoption programmes will now enable a large number of prospective adoptive parents, including those of Indian origin settled in Australia, in fulfilling their desire of adopting a child from India.
According to Special Broadcasting Service in Australia, Assistant Minister for Children and Families David Gillespie confirmed that he wrote to his state counterparts on Monday morning, as a group of politicians launched a new pro-adoption advocacy group.
"India has 'improved its processes' to comply with the Hague Convention on adoption and could rejoin the 13 countries still on Australia's approved adoption list," he was quoted by SBS News.
