South Africa

Adopting a child from South Africa

Who can adopt?

Who can adopt? Who can’t adopt?
Married couples
De facto couples
Same sex couples
Single people

Please note: while we have a program with South Africa, there have been no matches of children with Australian adoptive parents.

Children you can adopt from South Africa

Children in need of intercountry adoption are aged up to 6 years and have complex medical and health conditions, such as:

  • HIV+
  • born to HIV+ mothers
  • physical and mental disabilities
  • chronic illness
  • developmental delays
  • foetal alcohol syndrome.

Specific eligibility criteria to adopt from South Africa

If you’re interested in adopting a child from South Africa you need to meet the eligibility criteria of your state or territory central authority. You will also need to meet the following South African criteria:

Marriage

  • you can be married or single
  • you can be a same sex or de facto couple

Age

  • you must to be aged over 18
  • preference is given if you or your partner are aged less than 45 years old
  • if you’re older you can apply but waiting times may be longer

Your citizenship

  • at least one of you must be an Australian citizen

Waiting times

Waiting times are unavailable, as there have been no matches between children and Australian adoptive parents.

Cost of adopting a child from South Africa

The estimated cost is R35,000, depending on where your child is located.

Other fees

On top of state and territory central authority fees, there are other expenses such as:

  • translation fees
  • travel and accommodation costs
  • incidentals

Hague Convention information

South Africa will attempt to place a child with a family in South Africa before deciding if a child can be placed through intercountry adoption.

The central authority in South Africa is the South African Central Authority (SACA), Department of Social Development (DSD)

We also work with Cape Town Child Welfare.

More information