Adoption Action wins case – Adoption Act 1955 breaches New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990
Adoption Action took a claim to the Human Rights Tribunal about discriminatory provisions in the Adoption Act and the Adult Adoption Information Act. The Part 1A claim was submitted in 2013.
On 7 March 2016, the Human Rights Tribunal declared that seven provisions are inconsistent with the right to freedom from discrimination affirmed by s 19 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. Please see our media release.
The Tribunal’s decision Adoption Action Inc v Attorney-General [2016] NZHRRT stated at para “[270] As to the Crown’s reliance on “good practice” followed by the MSD, the short point is that, as was properly conceded, good practice cannot make otherwise discriminatory legislation non-discriminatory. Such practice is palliative only.”
Government response to the decision
Despite the Tribunal’s findings, the Government Response to declarations of inconsistency by the Human Rights Review Tribunal in Adoption Action Incorporated v Attorney-General concluded that: Currently, the Government is satisfied that in practice, the provisions of the Adoption Act are interpreted in a rights-consistent manner. As a result, the Government considers that the matters identified by the Tribunal do not significantly impact on adoptions, and therefore do not represent a situation that would move the Government to undertake large scale reform of the Adoption Act at the present time.
United Nations Children Committee
Withholding a child’s identity and severing a child from their family is a breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 8) to which New Zealand ratified on 6 April 1993.
Every four years, the United Nations looks at how well New Zealand is doing at protecting children’s rights. Consecutive United Nations Children Committee reports on New Zealand’s implementation of the Convention have reminded New Zealand of the urgent need to address the failings of the Adoption Act 1955.
The 2020 report states: Adoption 20. Please inform the Committee about the measures taken to amend the adoption legislation with a view to aligning it with the Convention, including the rights of children to non-discrimination, to have their best interests taken into consideration, to be heard and to preserve their identity. The Government’s response can be found here.
Useful resources for students or others conducting research:
Human Rights Commission calls for urgent reform of the New Zealand adoption laws - 9 March 2016
Human Rights Commission Submission to Human Rights Tribunal - 11 November 2013
Children’s Commissioner Submission to Human Rights Tribunal – November 2013