Street address:
Level 1, 45 Wakefield Street
Adelaide SA 5000
Postal address:
GPO Box 292
Adelaide SA 5001
Phone: 8207 0060
Fax: 8207 0066
Email: adoptions@dfc.sa.gov.au

Home » Families and young people » Adoption » Past adoption

The Department for Families and Communities (DFC) is now the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion (DCSI). The department is currently reviewing its online information and updates will be implemented soon.
You can still find departmental information using the search function on this site. For more information about South Australian government services please visit www.sa.gov.au.

Applying for adoption information

Last Updated Nov 2008

We need to receive your completed Application for Adoption Information form in order to process your request. The form must be received in hard copy. It cannot be accepted electronically. There are 3 separate forms available depending on whether you are an adopted person, birth parent or adoptive parent.

See Adoption forms and click on the appropriate form. Print, complete and post to our postal address. Alternatively, you can get a copy directly from us.
The forms ask you to provide some personal details as well as details about other parties to the adoption so that we can locate the correct records and find the information you want.
Once your information is ready we will contact you to let you know. This may be by letter or phone depending on the type and amount of information that is on the records. We will ask you how you would like to receive your information (ie in the post; over the phone first; or to meet with a social worker to receive your information).
If there is a veto in place we will advise you of this and provide you with non identifying information from the records.

Fees

There is a $50 administrative fee for people applying for the release of adoption information. This covers the costs of processing your enquiry, locating and gathering information from our records, processing this according to section 27 of the Adoption Act 1988 and providing you with the relevant documents and additional information.

The fee may be waived in certain circumstances (eg financial hardship). Part payment or payment by instalment may also be arranged. You can request a fee waiver on the application form.

How long will it take?

We provide a service that is fair and we process applications in the order we receive them. It is critical that you receive information that is 100% accurate and this requires significant checking throughout the application process.

We often receive a large number of applications at the same time so there may be a delay in processing your application. There may be a further delay if the required research is complex. In some cases applicants may need to wait a period of weeks or even months depending on these factors.

We may be able to give you some indication of the waiting time for your information. Please make sure you inform us of any changes in contact details during this waiting period.