Adoptions Australia 2021–22 covers the latest data on adoptions of Australian children and children from overseas. Data cover characteristics of adopted children, their parents, and adoptive families, as well as processes surrounding consent, contact and information exchange, and intercountry adoption processing times.
- Cat. no: CWS 89
Findings from this report:
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There were 208 adoptions finalised in Australia in 2021–22, a 34% decrease from the 315 adoptions finalised in 2016–17
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Following the peak of known child adoptions in 2019–20, numbers decreased 35% from 249 to 161 in 2021–22
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Overseas adoptions declined from 37 in 2019–20 to 16 in 2021–22, a decrease of 57%
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Compared to 1971–72, the number of adoptions in 2021–22 has declined by 98% from 9,798 to 208