Attachment 1
Proportion of activities in an out-of-home care adoption
The table below sets out the relative proportion of activities in an out-of-home care (OOHC)
adoption. Each activity area clarifies the proportion of the tasks which require OOHC or adoption
expertise. See Attachment 2 Flowchart and Practice notes for details on process.
Activity
OOHC
casework &
adoption
enquiry
Tasks
Complete file review of all relevant FACS
and agency files.
 Com plete placement review if one has not
been undertaken recently
 P rovide m a nda tory writte n inform a tion to
carer and child
Create 'OOHC adoption file'
 Conta ct FACS regional adoption
caseworker (RAC) or accredited adoption
service provider (AASP) to have carer's name
Facilitating
entered onto list of attendees
attendance at
 Advis e ca re rs ofseminar details
Preparation
 Advis e RAC / AASP in writing of carer
to Adoption
attendance at seminar
Seminar
 E nte r da te of ca re r a tte nda nce a t seminar in
KiDS
 S e m ina r m a y be run by FACS or AASP
 Loca te birth m othe r a nd fa the r, de te rm ine
paternity, add birth father to birth certificate
 Dis cus s ca s e pla n with birth pa re nts ,
involvement in assessment, purpose of
assessment, and provide MWI
 P rovide child with a ge a ppropria te
understanding of their life story
 De ve lop or review cultural plan
 Re vie w birth family (parents and siblings)
contact regime
Preparing for
 De te rm ine if child is e ligible to re ce ive
assessment
money through Victims Compensation
 E ns ure child ha s a ppropria te vis a a nd
Residence/Citizenship in Australia
 Fina lis e cultura l pla ns
Organise workers case meeting to discuss
merits of enquiry proceed to assessment
stage (RAC or AASP supported)
Prepare submission for Director,
Community Services approval to pay NGO
adoption support payment (Business Rule 3)
% of activity
which relies
on adoption
expertise but
not adoption
accreditation
OOHC
NGO
Accredited
adoption
agency or
FACS
10%
97.5%
2.5%
5%
20%
80%
10%
92.5%
7.5%
% of total
activity
time
1
Activity
Assessment*
Case Meeting
Complete
any
outstanding
casework
tasks
Obtain
'approval' to
commence
Adoption
action
Tasks
 NG O to send application package directly to
carer (formally request carers to apply to
adopt)
Request Carer checks (Health and National
Police checks)
Verify carers and all adult household
members working with children checks
(WWCC)
NGO to request FACS conduct KiDS Child
Safety Checks for each carer and all
household members
RAC enters carer’s application to adopt on
KiDS adoption register
 As s e s s m e nt of the m os t a ppropria te long
term plan for a child, including adoption
 In the ca s e of a doption, a s s e s s s pe cific
requirements as prescribed by the Adoption
Act 2000
Interview all parties (Child, Carer,
Household member, Mother/Father,
Significant others)
Negotiate and prepare draft adoption plan
RAC / AASP to review assessment report
prior to finalising
 P rovide a copy of relevant sections of
report to parents and carers
 Dis cus s re com m e nda tions with a ll pa rtie s
 Copy of s igne d a s s e s s m e nt re port to be
provided to the RAC
 O rga nis e ca s e meeting (all parties) and
discuss recommendations and any
outstanding casework tasks
 Docum e nt a gre e m e nt for a ll a ge nc y file s
relating to the child to be released to OOHC
adoption team or AASP to prepare the court
application
 P rovide RAC / AASP with minutes of
meeting outcome
 Com ple te a n y outs ta nding ca s e work ta s ks
as per Assessment recommendations and
Case conference outcomes
Update search action for parents (if
necessary)
 NG O to request RAC or AASP to prepare a
Briefing Note, and provide relevant documents
(Assessment report and attachments, draft
adoption plan, financial submission, special
needs assessment, copy of birth certificate)
RAC to progress the Briefing Note in their
district
NGO to notify parties of outcome
NGO caseworker to notify ADHC (if
applicable)
Child and Family District Unit caseworker
updates KiDS case plan goal to ‘Adoption of
C/YP’ and updates adoption register to
% of total
activity
time
% of activity
which relies
on adoption
expertise but
not adoption
accreditation
OOHC
NGO
Accredited
adoption
agency or
FACS
20%
90%
10%
90%
5%
90%
10%
10%
95%
5%
2.5%
50%
50%
2
Activity
Tasks
% of activity
which relies
on adoption
expertise but
not adoption
accreditation
OOHC
NGO
Accredited
adoption
agency or
FACS
2.5%
100%
0%
10%
85%
15%
5%
90%
10%
15%
10%
90%
5%
5%
95%
% of total
activity
time
‘approval’
NGO request draft applicant affidavit and
referee details
 G a the r re le va nt documents including carers’
documents and place on adoption file
Request
(previous or current medical reports, school
court
reports, verify WWCC outcomes for carers
documents
and adult household members)
Gain updated Police (name and date of
birth) check if previous checks are over 18
months
 De te rm ine who is re quire d to give cons e nt
under legislation
 Arrange necessary parties to give consent
 Ifparents are not able or willing to give
Receive
consent, discuss with RAC/AASP to determine
consents/
the grounds to dispense with consent (s67)
Request
RAC/AASP to review content of court report
court report
and adoption plan
and adoption
 NG O worker to arrange for court report and
plan
adoption plan to be finalised and signed
 Re que s t a pprova l from FACS OOHC
Adoption Team or AASP for matter to move to
finalisation
 NG O to arrange FACS and NGO files to be
sent to OOHC Adoption Team / AASP
Finalisation
NGO to create 'dummy' adoption file until
original is returned from Court
 O O HC Adoption Team / AASP to prepare
Minister's consent briefing note , prepare
Prepare
delegate's affidavit, forward final application to
court
FACS delegate (relevant Manager Client
application
Services) to sign, carers to sign joint applicant
and gain
affidavit, referee affidavits to be signed, file
Minister's
application in court
consent
 NG O to follow up on any casework tasks
required to complete application
Adoption
 O O HC Adoption Team / AASP to serve
application
notice, prepare affidavit of service, file in court,
filed in
undertake notification and administrative tasks
Supreme
once the Adoption Order has been finalised
Court
Total Activity Time
100%
Unit cost
Estimated OOHC NGO casework
(percentage of time spent on adoption
preparation casework by OOHC NGO that
does not have adoption accreditation, as a
proportion of total activity time)
54%
3