One mother recalls the overwhelming joy of successfully adopting a baby girl. It was the call I’d been waiting years to receive. “You have a daughter, she’s 11 months old and her name is Hai Yan,” the adoption caseworker said. I recorded the few available details — weight, height, number of teeth (four) — and […]

Australia has the third-lowest adoption rate in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – but why? The OECD has 34 member countries, including the UK, US, Canada, France and Germany, as well as developing nations like Chile, Turkey and Mexico. Advocates say there are several reasons for this. 1. The system is haphazard […]

Inter-country adoption is a complicated issue – here are some facts and figures about Australian international adoptions. In 2010, 197 children from overseas were adopted by Australian families, down from 434 in 2004-05. At the end of the year, a total Australian 963 applications were waiting at overseas placement agencies . Of the 197 placements […]

Deborra-Lee Furness raises two adopted children with her husband Hugh Jackman. Here, she talks about why adoption is important. I was asked to write a short piece about why I think adoption is important. I can’t think of anything more important than ensuring that every child in this world has at least one person who […]

Their globetrotting days are at an end – and a new child is on the way, reports Sebastian Van Der Zwan. After years travelling the world, never in one place long enough to put down roots, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are giving up their jetsetter lifestyle in order to base their rainbow tribe in […]

Angelina Jolie is adopting a little boy from South Africa, according to multiple sources close to the actress. The move will bring the number of children in her rainbow family to seven. The star, who has previously adopted three children – Maddox, 8, from Cambodia, Pax, 6, from Vietnam and daughter Zahara, 5, from Ethiopia […]