Why Is It So Hard For Same Sex Couples To Adopt In NSW?

The New South Wales government department that trains, assesses and approves people hoping to start a family through local adoption has shut its door to new applicants.  

People looking to adopt are being turned away to non-government organizations, some of which openly discriminate against same-sex couples. 

Why has it been so challenging for same-sex couples to adopt in NSW? What can be changed in the current adoption service? Will this issue be addressed in the upcoming NSW election? 

Click the link below to listen to the full episode, and find out more details about the adoption journey in NSW:

In today’s episode of THIS ARVO IN SYDNEY, our LiSTNR investigative journalist Bension Siebert joins the host Sacha Barbour Gatt, to discuss different options for people wanting to adopt, the current adoption process, and why same-sex couples are facing discrimination. 

Siebert has spoken to Michael and his fiancée, a same-sex couple in their 30s. They live in Sydney with stable jobs and a mortgage, and they are hoping to open a new chapter of their lives by adopting a child.  

So we always knew that we wanted a family. I think it was always like on the cards for us, just so we could have a family, I guess. And there were plenty of people, plenty of kids out there in need of a home,”

Michael said.

Most countries that have an adoption agreement with Australia do not accept same-sex couples, and surrogacy or foster care were not good options for the pair.  

Foster carers can eventually adopt children permanently, but the couple wanted to adopt permanently from the start, known as local adoption.  

This means permanently taking in a child who has been voluntarily put up for adoption.

The government says that only about seven children last year were put up for adoption voluntarily, so the chances are pretty slim, but they wanted a child that they could bring into their home, start a family, and that be permanent,”

Siebert said.

But now the chances are even slimmer for same-sex couples, as some of the agencies to which the department has outsourced the service do not accept same-sex adoptive parents. 

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