For professionals

Teachers

• Relationships Australia South Australia (RASA) has information for teachers working with adoptees. RASA also provides post adoption support services and can visit schools and provide information sessions to staff, as well as be involved in conversations with adopted student’s teachers and parents.
• Blue Knot Foundation provides a series of strategies for grounding, self-soothing and managing emotions for people who have experienced trauma. These strategies are applicable for young children through to adults.
• The Australian Childhood Foundation provides a resource for building sensory guides of comfort in children and young people.
• Blue Knot Foundation provides a booklet on “Talking About Trauma (PDF)” for Health and other service providers, to understand and guide conversation for children and youth who have experienced trauma.

Allied health professionals

• The journal “Social Work Today” published an article by Deborah H Siegel on Adoption Issues in Health Care Settings.
• The webpage “InPsych” featured an article by Susan Green, a consultant psychologist and trainer, on Working with adopted people.
• The Australian Institute of Family Studies published a paper by Pauline Kenny et al. on Good practice principles in providing services to those affected by forced adoption and family separation. Please note that while this paper does focus on Australia’s past forced adoption practices and not intercountry adoption, it provides valuable insight on providing support services for people who experienced childhood trauma and separation from birth families.
• The American Psychological Association has prepared an education series by Jill Waterman et al. on Adoption-Specific Therapy: A Guide to Helping Adopted Children and Their Families Thrive.
• The Australian Childhood Foundation provides workshops for professionals, focused on supporting vulnerable children and young people, and children with trauma backgrounds.
• Blue Knot Foundation provides a booklet on “Talking About Trauma (PDF)” for Health and other service providers, to understand and guide conversation for children and youth who have experienced trauma.

Lawyers and migration agents

• A series of legislative instruments form the framework for intercountry adoption in Australia. Please refer to Intercountry Adoption Legislation for the list of laws relevant to intercountry adoption.
• The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperating in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Convention) aims to protect children and their families from trafficking, and illegal and ill-prepared adoptions. In Australia, the Hague Convention entered into force on 1 December 1998.
• The Protocol for responding to allegations of child trafficking in intercountry adoption was developed by the Australian Central Authority in consultation with the State and Territory Central Authorities to provide information and assistance to adoptive families and adoptees in circumstances where there have been allegations or concerns about child trafficking within a country of origin.
• The Interstate transfer guidelines prepared by the Department of Social Services sets out the procedure for transferring an adoption application in the case that Prospective Adoptive Parents relocate interstate during the course of their adoption application.
• The Commonwealth-State Agreement for the Continued Operation of Australia’s Intercountry Adoption Program establishes the roles and responsibilities of the Australian Central Authority and State and Territory Central Authorities under the Hague Convention. It provides a framework for the implementation of the Hague Convention and a cooperative scheme for intercountry adoption in Australia.
• Registered migration agents are able to assist in preparing and submitting a visa application. The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority in the Department of Home Affairs provides a directory for searching for, choosing and registering as a migration agent.

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